


Beauty and The Beast

by sillypandalover91



Series: Disneytalia [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Disneytalia, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:39:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 67,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4465772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillypandalover91/pseuds/sillypandalover91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, there lived a kind prince who made the mistake of rejecting a fairy. Insulted, the creature transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a curse on his castle and all who lived there. Can he learn to love and earn their love before the last petal falls and break the spell or will he be doomed to live the rest of his days as a beast? AU and human names used</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Curse

**Author's Note:**

> The cast:
> 
> The Beast: Sweden/Berwald
> 
> Belle: Finland/Tino
> 
> Maurice: Denmark/Mathias
> 
> Gaston: Estonia/Eduard
> 
> Le Foo: Latvia/Ravis
> 
> Lumier: France/Francis
> 
> Cogsworth: England/Arthur
> 
> Mrs. Pots: Nyo! England/ Alice
> 
> Chip: Sealand/Peter
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia nor do I own the songs from Beauty and The Beast.

"What's got your panties in a twist?"

Arthur stopped pacing to glare at the stable master. The man leaned against his elbows in the hay with a lazy grin that tended to do more than just rouse a blush to his cheeks, his blue eyes not leaving his green. Sighing, the blonde pulled out his pocket watch, "Nothing. I have to get going, the party is about to start."

"Dude, as if Berwald is even going to notice you're not there." Alfred stood and pulled up his trousers and reached out for his boyfriend, "Why don't you stay with me? Alice and Francis can take care of it."

"What have I told you about mentioning that frog's name after we've…never mind." The shorter blonde fixed his hair, "It's bad enough my clothes smell like I've rolled around in a barn-"

"You technically did," said Alfred with a cheeky grin.

"-but my sister will have my head for leaving her to take care of everything herself," finished Arthur with a glare. "Besides you know Francis is. The git is probably chasing more skirts than he is making sure Berwald mingles."

Alfred gave in at the mention of his prince social awkwardness. He knew very well how badly things could get if someone wasn't there to coax him out of his shell and out of all the servants, Arthur was the only one patient enough to do so. Well, Peter too but the boy was more than likely fast asleep. The blonde gave his lover one last kiss and watched him retreat back into the castle. "Ooh, it's going to be chilly tonight," murmured Alfred as he moved to place heavy covers onto the horses backs, "But don't worry, dudes. Ol' Alfie's got ya'lls back."

Lightning cracked the sky, cutting through a cloud just as Arthur shut the door behind him. Heavy rain was drowned out by jovial music and conversations being carried within the ball room. He looked out the window sadly, "I wish Alfred didn't have to stay out there on nights like this."

"You know the master doesn't like leaving the animals alone," said Alice as she walked by with a tray of snacks. She tugged at her brother's pocket watch, "Just look at the time, you git. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run this kitchen and make sure the Master doesn't make a fool out of himself?" She caught herself before she lost her temper and her expression softened, "I'm sorry, brother. It's just that…I feel like something is off tonight."

"You too?"

"What do you mean me too? Have you been feeling weird?"

Arthur tucked a handkerchief into his breast pocket, "Ever since that woman got here, I feel like there's this-"

"Fog surrounding us?"

"Yes." The blonde shook his head, "But I'm sure it's nothing. Come, lets go see to our guests."

~.~

It was silent. So silent in fact, that the only thing that could be heard was the steady heartbeat of the young prince. Breaths were held as servants and guests alike awaited Berwald's answer. Surely he would not refuse the fair maiden's request. She was beautiful. Frighteningly so. Hair long and blacker than the midnight sky emphasized her hazel eyes that gleamed with mischief which proved that she would never bore him. Her lips plump and red would forever whisper sweetly and hotly into his ear. Broad hips and sweet curves that would for sure produce countless heirs for him. So what was he waiting for? There was no doubt that he was going to say anything but ye-

"I refuse," said Berwald bluntly.

Oh, that wasn't the answer the maiden wished to hear, especially not in front of others. Never the less her smile didn't waver though the mischief in her eyes was replaced with steel. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, I refuse yer proposal."

"May I ask why?"

"Ya know why."

And to be fair, she did. For countless of nights she had tried to seduce him both emotionally and physically but failed each time. Berwald wasn't completely sure why he couldn't be moved by her for she certainly was a beautiful woman despite her cruel nature towards his servants. Perhaps there in laid the problem. Her beauty couldn't hide her repulsive nature.

Laura narrowed her eyes, smile finally dropping from her face, "It's because you're a man lover isn't it?"

"Gender is irrelevant to me. Ya are just a mean person and I will not subject my people to someone like you." Berwald's glasses caught the gleam of light as he addressed her, "And my son hates you."

"Peter? That brat isn't your son. He's nothing more than the sniveling little brother of your head servants. Why should he have a say in the affairs of your heart?"

"My heart? What do ya know about my heart? As a matter of a fact what do ya know about love at all?" The prince stepped down from his throne and walked towards her, "The only reason ya want t' marry me is because your father wants t' secure an alliance with me. Ya don't really love me."

Laura laughed mirthlessly, "Love? You are going to lecture me about love, Prince? You who spend you day carpeting instead of plotting battle formations? You who would much rather feed the wild life instead of hunting it? And when you're not busy doing that, you waste it playing with your son. Face it, Prince, your chances of marrying anyone are slim. I'm your only chance of ever getting a proper wife, whether it's for love or not."

"Nh, I'll find someone someday," snapped Berwald irritably, "And when I do, he or she will love me for me."

A cruel smirk made its way on to Laura's face, "Oh you think so? How about we test that theory?" She held her arms at her sides and rose them up, her hazel eyes glowing gold.

"Mon dieu," cried Francis in alarm, "She's a fairy!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Don't be ridiculous frog, there's no such thing as- argh!" The royal adviser fell to his knees in agony, followed shortly by the rest of the staff as the collapsed one by one. All around him he heard screams, dishes were breaking and animals were howling in fear and pain.

Berwald narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What are you-nh!" His body convulsed as a heavy cloud engulfed his palace. Panic. Panic was something he'd never felt before and it sure as hell wasn't something he ever thought he'd feel. Where was Arthur? Francis? Alice? Peter?! His son, he needed to get to-his clothes ripped at the seams as his body became bigger and harrier. Was that fur? What…God! His hands and feet felt like they were on fire, his eyes, mouth, ears, everything was on fire!

In the barn Alfred was trying to calm the animals when a sudden fog made its way inside, "What the hell is-argh!" Dropping to his knees, the stable master twisted in agony until eventually everything stopped. The animals were silent and his vision went black.

Laura lowered her arms and she looked around to inspect her work. The castle no longer shone, now only an empty shell of what it used to be not minutes before her spell. People were scattered across the floor unmoving. But that was to be expected of inanimate objects. A moan came from beside her and she moved towards it.

"Wha-what happened to us," groaned Berwald as he rolled over onto his back. He blinked a few times to get used to the dark but found that he could see perfectly despite his lack of eyewear. Why did he feel like he had been struck by lightning? Gasping, he stood up on wobbly legs only to fall on his face. He growled in pain and it came out like a vicious lion's roar. Bringing a hand to cover his mouth, his eyes widened when he realized that he was touching fur and that his mouth had become a snout…and his hand wasn't a hand but a paw.

Since getting up was too much of a struggle, Berwald crawled over to a silver tray and looked into it. Horns on head, face of a lion wolf…thing, he screamed in horror falling back on his rump. The prince looked down at his body and screamed again. His body looked too much like that of a bear and his feet, oh his feet were paws too! And what was…he wiggled something that he assumed was a tail.

"What have ya done to me," he growled upon seeing Laura standing patiently beside him. Berwald looked around at the new dishes and nick nacks littered the floor where his servants were standing, "What…are those my…"

"My spell affected everyone in this palace including the few guests that were staying the night," explained Laura as she examined her nails, "Not that I'm sorry for that." She noted that Berwald was beginning to sway and it was only a matter of time before he lost consciousness again. Stalking up to him, she kneeled and pulled his face towards her by his horn, "No one will care how kind and gentle you are in this form. They'll hate you, fear you, scorn you for who could ever love a beast?"

~.~

The orange hues of morning had been splashed onto the sky suddenly became dark and ominous the closer Lukas got to the castle. He had rushed over as soon as he felt the wave of dark magic from his cottage within the woods. There had been whispers of the dark fairy's presence in this side of the world but he had dismissed them as mere rumors. Fairies didn't make a habit to come into each other's realms but apparently the dark ones didn't always abide by that unspoken rule.

Had the blonde had no control over his body, his jaw would've dropped at the sight of Berwald's castle. Demonic creatures and thorny bushes replaced the angelic statues and beautiful gardens. The fountains that once spouted crystal like water now spewed slime. Gone was the gentle aurora that surrounded castle leaving a sense of despair in its wake. Lukas walked past the gates, taking in the rest of the court yard. A lone rose caught his attention. He carefully plucked it from the bush and cradled it in his arms, "You survived whatever corruption has washed over this land. Why?"

Vicious roars echoed inside the castle, startling the young man out of his thoughts. Lukas collected himself and rushed past the doors and into the castle's throne room. The inside looked almost as bad as it did outside; dishes, wardrobes, candelabras and others strange objects littered the floor. He knelt in order to reach out a hand over a white and blue china pot and immediately retracted it, "Impossible!" His dull blue eyes widened as he realized what these objects really were. They darted over to a mound larger than the others and cautiously walked over to it, pleading that it wasn't who he thought it was.

Exercising caution again, Lukas lifted the cloak. "My god," he whispered sadly, "Berwald, what have they done to you? What have they done to everyone?"

The prince cracked an eye open to see who had disturbed his slumber. "Nh, Lukas?" He blinked tiredly, "I just had a nightm're…"

Lukas licked his lips nervously, "I'm afraid, old friend, that it wasn't a nightmare."

Blue eyes shot open, memories of last night overwhelming him again. What had that crazy fairy said? "Every…one?" Berwald scrambled to get up and tried to run towards Peter's room. He was there in little to no time at all given his circumstance. Shoving the door open, the prince called out to the boy, "Peter!" The empty bed sent a wave of terror through Berwald, "Peter, where are ya?!" He let out a pained howl as he tossed the bed sheets aside, hoping to find some sign of the little blonde…

"Ow!" The sound of glass breaking caught Berwald's attention. "Arthur? Sissy, is papa's party over? Can I have some cake?"

"Peter?"

"Papa? Why is everything so big?"

Berwald held his breath. Tiny movements came from under the heavy comforter he had carelessly tossed over his shoulder. He waited to see what came out, "Peter…" His heart stopped upon seeing a tea cup roll from under the sheets, a chip running down the edge.

"Papa, why do you sound-" Peter froze upon seeing Berwald, his little blue eyes staring at the monstrosity before him. "A-A…" Tears welled up as he let out a frightened wail, the cry drawing the attention of Lukas and three others who all rushed to the source.

Lukas was mildly surprised to see the cup, a pot, a candelabra and a clock huddled together when he managed to find the boy's room. The objects were staring at Berwald terror.

"Y-you guys, please don't stare," mumbled the prince uncomfortably.

"Your majesty," they all cried out in disbelief.

"This…is unexpected." Lukas looked at his hands then at the objects in confusion. "How are you all moving?"

Peter squeezed out of the protective circle his siblings formed around him and hopped closer to the beast before him, "P-papa? Is that really you?"

And then something happened that the objects didn't expected from the creature before them. The beast carefully picked up the cup and cradled it against his furry chest, "It's me, Peter." He looked at his servants apologetically then at Lukas, "Please, isn't there something you can do? I'm the one who insulted her, can't they be spared?"

Lukas placed a hand on Arthur's wooden head in concentration. When nothing happened, he sighed, "I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do to break the spell but…I think I can add to it." Lukas picked up the Alice by her handle and inspected her curiously.

"Add to it," she squeaked, "Why on earth would you do that?"

"Well what brought the spell on?"

"His majesty didn't accept Laura's marriage proposal so she did this," offered Francis rubbing the back of his waxy neck, "I think so at least. All I know was that he said that someone would love him no matter what and she did this."

"She said that no one would love a beast," muttered Berwald as he eyed his paws.

"I see."

"How do I break the spell?"

Everyone watched Lukas lean back on a marble nightstand, pale blonde hair that wasn't pinned away from his dull blue eyes by silver clips fell onto his high cheekbones. Thin pink lips were pursed with thought as he played with the rose he had found earlier, "It seems like love is what sparked Laura's anger. She isn't exactly the nicest fairy on good days let alone on days when someone rejects her. And from the looks of…what she did to you, Berwald, I think she sought to make sure that nobody would ever want to be with you."

"But not everything here was destroyed," continued the blonde. He extended the rose with a small smile, "This one survived the curse." He looked at its perfect red petals and nodded with resolution, "Yes, I think that'll work."

Berwald scooted closer, "What? Did ya figure something out?"

He looked back up in time to see Lukas radiate a white light from his person. The sight over whelmed the prince and he brought his forearm to protect his sensitive eyes. When he no longer felt warmth against his cheeks, Berwald lowered his arm. "What did ya-"

"I cleansed as much darkness as I could." The blonde walked over to a table that held a glass dome. A pale pink glow engulfed the rose as he let it suspend within the case. "This is my gift to you."

"Gift? Gift?!" Unreal anger pulsed through Berwald and he pounced on the blonde, knocking him onto the table. "How is this a gift? You didn't do anything," he growled angrily, scarring Peter back to his siblings. Ashamed, Berwald backed away and covered his face.

Despite the display of raw power, Lukas remained unfazed. His blue eyes darted over to the rose, "I'd be more careful, Prince. That rose will play a very important role in your life. I may not have reversed anything, but I have made it possible for you to break the spell. Only…you don't have much time do so."

"What do ya mean?"

"Given your behavior…the beast within you wants to come out. Fight it Berwald. Don't give in to it or all will be lost." The blonde lifted the beast's face by his chin and looked into his blue eyes, "To break the spell, you must learn how to love and earn their love in return."

"I love Peter," interrupted Berwald suddenly. "Doesn't that count?"

"I'm afraid not, your majesty. You two already shared a father-son relationship before the curse. Laura did this because she believes that no one will ever want you in this form. But you have to prove her wrong."

"How am I supposed to do that in this body?"

"You'll find a way." Lukas fixed his robes and made his way back out, "Oh, and I was serious about the rose. Make sure no harm comes to it."

Arthur looked to the blonde, "Why?"

"It's enchanted. The rose will bloom until his twenty-third year. If he does what I told him before the last petal falls from it, the spell with be broken. If not then I fear you and the prince will remain in your current state for all time."

~.~

Nobody heard from Lukas after that though they assumed that it wasn't in a fairy's nature to stay put in the same place for too long. Arthur and Francis had gone to work as soon as possible, sending out letters to alliances requesting hands in marriages. When those didn't work, they sent letters requesting that available suitors men or women be sent to the castle but those always resulted the same way. One look at Berwald sent them running from wince they came.

As the weeks turned into months, the amount of available suitors began to trickle down to less and less. Word got around of the monster that inhabited Berwald's castle and the few suitors that did brave the journey found themselves running. This didn't faze the prince however, he figured if they ran the it was simply because they weren't compatible. After all love could make you see beyond the superficial. At least that was what he kept telling himself as to not lose hope but there was only so much he could stand. To make matters worse, he found himself wanting to succumb to his animalistic side but the promise of finding true love helped keep it at bay.

Eventually months turned became a year and that year gave way to another. Letters stopped leaving the castle and suitors stopped coming. His servants stopped cleaning, stopped cooking. He stopped believing. Despair began to creep into the prince's heart. Who could ever love a beast? The fairy's words kept echoing in his mind making any remaining hope dwindle down to mere embers.

"But 'm not a beast," murmured Berwald to himself as he took a stroll in his court yard. He had long abandoned clothing, finding that he enjoyed being free from the constricting fabrics. For Alice's sake he continued to wear trousers but even those were beginning to get on his nerves. His horse like tail dragged along the snow covered ground. In the distance he saw Alfred, now a coat rack, groom what was left of Hanatamago. The small dog had been turned into a foot rest but still enjoyed being brushed down every now and again.

It would appear that his servants were trying to make the best of things. Though they didn't mention it, Berwald knew that they too were starting to lose hope. Well, almost everyone. Francis, Alice, Arthur and Peter still believed that he would find someone to help break the spell. Something told him that they only believed for the sake of believing. It was truly the only thing they had left.

Berwald froze and lifted his snout to the wind to sniff. His stomach growled at the familiar scent, stag. He followed his nose until he managed to find the creature grazing in a small patch of grass. As soon as he saw it, he knew. He knew he was losing the battle for his humanity. He knew that it was ridiculous to even think there was still a war going on in the first place.

An animalistic growl rumbled in the prince's throat. The snow crunched under his heavy paws as he chased the stag. Berwald managed to force the stag to run towards castle. Releasing another roar, the prince pounced on the creature and bit into his neck, his claws digging into warm flesh until all life was vanquished. Arthur and Peter stared at their prince in horror.

"P-papa!" Peter inched closer to Berwald as the prince tore into the stag. "Papa, wh-what are you doing?!"

Berwald rose his head to glare at the intruder, "Mine!"

The tiny tea cup didn't understand and inched closer, "Why are you-"

"My meat," growled the beast again, the fur on his haunches rising and bloody teeth bared threateningly, "Mine!" Arthur pulled his little brother away just as a heavy paw came down on the very spot the tea cup had been. Berwald continued to feast upon the carcass until he heard a whimper. Looking back up he saw Peter cry softly into Arthur's glass chest.

"What-" The prince caught sight of himself in a dirty mirror. Fur and snout stained in blood from the creature he had just killed in cold blood. A creature that he had so often welcomed into his property before…before when? Why had he ever allowed these things near his castle if not to eat? No not to eat. Stags aren't meant to be eaten. Not like he was at least. In a stew maybe with nice buttery rolls and cold beer. Not raw, not bloody, not like a savage beast.

Ashamed at the mess he had created and fear he had once again struck into his son's heart, Berwald mumbled an apology and ran to his room in the west wing. He studied himself in his mirror again and didn't like what he saw. Who was he kidding? He was ugly and no one would ever want him like this, let alone love. Growling in anger, Berwald grabbed a chair and threw it against the mirror. He dragged his claws down a portrait of himself. What use was it to him now? His past self would only mock him for his stupidity and hideous appearance.

Francis knocked on the door before entering hesitantly, "Master?"

"Leave m' in peace," grumbled Berwald as he looked into a mirror that had been affected by Lukas's magic. It allowed him to see the outside world without having to leave. From what he could see, his subjects and alliances had thought him dead. Perhaps it was better this way…

"Master, there is still once place we have not tried. Our village…perhaps we could send out one more letter and-"

"Nh! No more lett'rs." Berwald carefully sat the mirror down and looked at the rose miserably. "No more." He couldn't bare it anymore. Not the look of fear on suitor's faces. Not the heart break that would come every time they fled. The fairy had been right. She had been right about everything. The prince waited until Francis left before curling into himself on his bed. His blue eyes watered, "Who cou'd ev'r love a beast?"


	2. A Beautiful But Funny Guy

~Two Years Later~

"Did he get married because he's ashamed of me," asked Tino wistfully. He sat on a stack of hay as he watched Mathias load the last of their belongings onto a cart. He glanced over at his younger brother, Emil, who was busy helping his new wife move her own things into what used to be his room. "I know that sometimes, my thoughts get ahead of me but-eep!" The short blonde jerked in surprise when his brother jumped from the cart and landed before him.

Mathias grinned kindly, "He's not ashamed, Tino. Emil just found someone who he wanted to share his heart with, that's all."

"Then why are we leaving?"

"Well, we can't all live in the same house. They're going to need their space."

Tino rose an eyebrow, "And leaving town will give them this 'space' you speak off?"

"Look, I know it seems…unorthodox but it'll be ok. Emil's a big boy now and we need to let him go. 'sides, Lilly will take care of him." Mathias moved to secure the reigns onto their Clydesdale, "Besides, you're the one who's always saying that we should get out and see the world more. Like-"

"Santa?!"

The older blonde paused to glance over his shoulder at his brother. Hot air blew against his face and he realized that their horse was snorting in amusement. He himself bit his own lip to keep from chuckling but Tino's face was making it hard. The young man had his violet eyes wide with childlike wonder at the possibility of seeing the world like his idol. Mathias felt bad for having to pop his bubble, "I was going to say like the characters from those books you like to read so much."

Tino grinned in excitement, "Where are we going? Are we really going to go on an adventure?"

"Er, sorta."

The two brothers gave Emil their final blessing and set off for their new home. Mathias spent the better half of the journey bouncing ideas for new inventions off Tino who jotted them down in the Book-of-Super-Awesome-But-May-Need-Tweeking-But-Not-Too-Much-Ideas along with a few sketches. For years, the eldest brother had tried to invent something that would turn their fortune around but as ingenious as most of them were in theory, actually making one that worked was rather tricky. Nevertheless, Tino never failed to praise and encourage his older brother. And he planned to continue to do so even if it was just the two of them now.

When the young blonde roused from his sleep, he was met with a quaint cottage with a stream running right by it. Behind the cottage was a small stable and from the looks of things, their horse had already made himself at home. A meadow with a patch of dandelions served as pasture for their chickens, who were now scratching at the dirt for food. Their lambs frolicked around them, happy to finally be let out of their cage to stretch their legs.

"Er, Mathias," called Tino as he pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders to keep the morning chill at bay, "Where are we?"

Mathias took out a key to the cottage with a grin, "Our new home! Come on, let's check out the damage."

The younger brother pulled out the journal again to make note of the 'damage' which weren't really damages at all but simply things that could be improved. Like that door. Who had a door without looking goggles? Those would need to be installed as soon as possible. No telling what kind of brutes would wander onto their doorstep. Both the kitchen and second story bathroom had widows that faced the stream so why not add a water-fetcher wheel? That way they wouldn't have to go outside to get the water; the wheel would provide a constant supply of fresh water as it spun with the passing water. See? His big brother truly was a genius!

Mathias giggled, "It's not so bad, right?"

"No, not at all," agreed Tino as he placed the last of his books onto a spinning bookshelf, another one of his brother's inventions. "But where are we? Won't Emil have trouble sending us letters if we're so far away? His Puffin can fly only so far…" The blonde trailed off when he noted that his brother started to fidget. "We are far away…aren't we?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Mathias blushed, "Define far."

"Well you said we were going on an adventure. I thought-" the sound of bells chiming and someone yelling out the time with a strange ve~ afterward interrupted Tino's thoughts. His eyes widened with realization before narrowing, "Really?! We're in Lyons-la-Forêt? That's not even that far from Gerberoy! We past it up as we were going to there to begin with!"

Mathias pouted, "Aw, come one, little brother. You're the one who was always saying that Gerberoy was boring. This was all we could afford."

Tino ran a hand over his face in defeat," Oh." Feeling ashamed he tried to smile for his brother's sake, "Well in that case...hey at least we have that running water right? Maybe we can build a ramp to carry it to that little tower. Make a sauna out of it. I always wanted a sauna."

"Yeah! And who knows," the taller blonde pulled his brother in for a side hug, "maybe you'll find that it's not so bad. It can still be an adventure for you. Look there's even plenty of trees for you to climb and read your books in. And our house is just a little bit outside the town's limits. Maybe when you go in you'll see something exciting!" Tino humored his brother and said no more on the subject though deep down he seriously doubted it.

~One Year Later~

Something was burning. There was about a sixty-percent chance that something was burning and a ninety-percent chance that it was his brother's fault. Never the less, Tino rolled over in his bed, desperate to cling onto the last few moments of peace. He'd been dreaming a wonderful dream. A handsome blue eyed prince had invited him over to stay at his castle and they were just about to play with a rabbit who liked to wear trousers. The kind prince had even allowed him to name him whatever he wanted and Tino was about to dub the cute white bunny 'Sir-Magic-Breathing-Super-Fluffball.' Best part was that the prince hadn't even laughed at the silly name, just nodded and held his hand.

It hadn't been but five minutes that the little bell started to ring, alerting him that the water pail was full and ready to be used for a bath. Rolling onto his back, Tino stared at the ceiling thoughtfully, "I wonder if such a man exists? He'd certainly be a man after my own heart, especially if he has a passion for animals."

"What was that, little brother?" Mathias poked his head into Tino's room, his hair looking wilder than usual. He had on his tool belt in one hand and what looked like burned toast in the other. "Eh-heh, sorry about the smell. I was testing my flame thrower knife. Turns out I can't control fire with air." His blue eyes shone with eagerness, "But that just means that I now know how not to make a flame thrower knife."

Tino smiled, "Are we going to need more bread?"

"'fraid so. Sorry, man."

"It's ok. I needed to go into town anyway."

"Bookshop?"

"Mhm. I want to return this one."

Mathias watched Tino make his bed then trot into their bathroom to wash up. "Are you sure it's not because you want to see Matthew?"

"No."

"He's kind of cute, isn't he?"

"Gilbert would agree with ya," said the short blonde around his toothbrush. He spat out and rinsed before pulling off his night clothes and slipping on a pair of powder blue pants and a white cotton shirt. "They're an item, I think."

"Oh, wow really? Guess I miss out on current events when I live like a hermit, huh?"

Tino pulled on a light blue vest and left it open. "It's ok, ya aren't really missing much." Grabbing his basket and book, he reached out to place a kiss on his brother's cheek, "I'll be back soon."

"Ok, I'm going to go work on the tree chopper-tron."

Shaking his head fondly, Tino stepped out of their cottage and made his way towards the village. It really wasn't that far but he was thankful for the distance. Anything was better than having to deal with him. Still…he sort of wished the distance were greater. Everything was so boring here and there wasn't really anyone he could talk to. Matthew was nice but he did have a life outside of the book shop. There were the Italian brothers but one was married and had a bakery to run while the other worked as both a herald and painter. They had talked a few times, mostly about the paintings he would make but, again, he did have a life outside his imagination and it mostly revolved around his German lover.

It would seem that the few people he could talk to always had something else to do or weren't patient enough to put up with his own whimsical nature. Tino swung his basket with a sigh. It was ok. Mathias always told him that imagination was a good thing to have and to be frank, if he couldn't go on real adventures, he could at least indulge in them in his mind. "Sure beats doing the same thing over and over again each day."

The blonde bit his lip as he approached the red brick bridge that lead into the market. He'd done this so many times, he could pin point the exact moment the citizens would come out to greet the day. Looking at the town clock he slowed his walking, "Little town, it's a quiet village. Every day, like the one before. Little town, full of little people," Tino paused and rose his arms up like a conductor, "waking up to say-"

And like clockwork, the townsfolk opened up windows to their apartments and shops in near unison. "Bonjour," they greeted to each other, "Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour!"

Tino chuckled softly and made his way through the crowds, "There goes the baker with his tray, like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell. Every morning is just the same, since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town."

Flipping his now empty tray in his hands, Lovino spotted the only person that didn't completely piss him off, "Good morning, Tino."

Despite knowing how this would end, Tino walked over, "Morning, Lovi!"

The baker placed his tray on a table through the window of his bakery and waited for his Spaniard husband to give him a new one, "Where are you off to?"

"The bookshop. I just finished the most wonderful story about a beanstalk and an ogre and a-"

Lovino nodded, "That's nice. Oi, bastard! The baguettes! Hurry up!"

A jovial 'ok, tesoro' was shouted back making the Italian's face heat up and Tino giggle before he continued his way. His violet eyes glazed up as he thought back to his dream. Maybe he could dream about the prince again and they could go exploring together!

Around him townsfolk eyed the petite man as he made his way through the crowd expertly, "Look there he goes, that boy is strange, no question. Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?"

"Never part of any crowd," said a girl with twin brunet braids to her brother who was trying to wrestle a pig into its pen.

He nodded, "'Cause his head's up on some cloud. No denying he's a funny man that Tino."

Tino paused so that the milk man could maneuver his ox driven cart into his spot in the market," "Bonjour!" The blonde snapped out of his daze momentarily. Was he talking to him?

"Good day," chirped the woman who sold cheese next to his booth. Of course. Why would the milk man greet him when he had his friend right there? Unless, they were both talking to him.

"How is your family?"

Nope not talking to him at all, just like always. Ah well, it didn't bother him, he had a prince waiting for him in his mind. Hopping onto another passing carriage, this one driven by Antonio who was making a quick delivery to the tavern, Tino let his mind wander as towns folk went about their morning as per usual.

"Bonjour," said a woman with a thick accent as she handed over a few coins to a florist.

The florist took the money and handed over her usual bundle of herbs, "Good day."

"How is your wife?"

As they drove by, Tino saw the only Asian that lived in the village. He was nice to talk to as well but he hardly ever had time to do so. This was mostly because he had so many siblings to look after. Speaking of which, Yao was struggling to balance his two sisters and a basket of groceries in his arms while making sure his two little brothers didn't wander off, "I need six eggs! Aiya! Don't go over there, Shane! Kiku, keep an eye on the other one!"

Kiku reached out for his wayward brother just as he knocked over a clay pot. Hoping that he could take care of it before Yao realized what had happened, the short man pulled out his coin purse, "How much?" At the merchant's response, his dull brown eyes widened, "That's too expensive!"

As he said, Clockwork. Tino thanked Antonio for allowing him to ride on the carriage and hopped off, "There must be more than this provincial life."

Matthew looked up from his cart of books at the sound of his bell chime and smiled, "Ah, Tino!"

"Good Morning. I've come to return the book I borrowed."

The book shop owner rose his eyebrows in shock, "Finished already, eh?"

"Oh, I couldn't put it down." Tino climbed up the small ladder to take a look at the higher book shelves, "Have ya got anything new?"

Matthew placed the book onto his cart so he could sort it later with a soft chuckle, "Not since yesterday, I'm afraid." He bent down to pet his little bear cub as he waited to see what Tino would pick this time. It was truly refreshing to see someone take an interest in books. He himself had read just about everyone in the store and didn't really have anyone to discuss them with. Gilbert had tried to get him to talk to his brothers about it but he found Ludwig far too intimidating and Roderich too overbearing.

"That's all right," murmured Tino. "I'll borrow," his finger tracing the spines of a few books until it landed on a familiar title, "this one!"

The shy blonde took the book from Tino to see which he was talking about. "That one? But you've read it twice!"

Tino blushed, "Well, it's my favorite. Far off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, a prince in disguise." And it truly was. Perhaps that's where his mind had conjured dream prince up from. He was about to go into his mind palace when he heard Matthew say something. "I'm sorry. Could ya say that again?"

"I said," Matthew surrendered the book over with a kind smile, "if you like it all that much, it's yours."

"But-"

"I insist! It would only collect dust here. I would rather it go to a good home where it'll be appreciated."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!" Tino waved goodbye as he exited the shop before tearing open his book. No matter how many times he may have read the story, it never got old. He ignored his surroundings and dove headfirst into the land of fantasy.

So caught up in the story, Tino set himself in auto pilot again as people around him looked at his strangely. One of the townsfolk nudged his two friends, "Look there he goes that guy is so peculiar.  
I wonder if he's feeling well."

The rounder of the males pursed his lips, "With a dreamy far-off look."

A woman opened her window to pour out her dirty water into a rain shoot just as Tino was walking underneath it. Not taking his eyes from the book, he pushed up a wooden sign to block the water as he walked past. She frowned, "And his nose stuck in a book." Shaking her head at Tino's retreating form, the woman couldn't help but feel slightly impressed that he always seemed to know when she was going to dump the water every morning. "What a puzzle to the rest of us is he."

Tino gasped as he reached a familiar part in the story. He gently made his way past a herd of sheep and sat on the edge of a water fountain so he could properly enjoy it. "Oh, isn't this amazing," he cooed to one of the smaller sheep walking by. It hopped onto the ledge next to him and looked at the book in his hands in question. "It's my favorite part because you'll see," Tino pointed at the tiny picture at the beginning of the passage, "here's where she meets Prince Charming but she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three."

The blonde waited for the small herd of sheep cleared before making his way back to the bridge. Tino brushed a lock of blond hair from his eyes and continued to read as he walked past the dress shop with two women. Elizabeta eyed him from inside, her green eyes glittering by what she saw, "Now it's no wonder that the men here like him. His looks have got no parallel." She wondered if he would let her sketch him with one of her male friends…for the sake of art, of course. Maybe Kiku could help persuade him.

Leaning closer to her patron, the shopkeeper whispered, "But behind that fair façade, I'm afraid he's rather odd." Elizabeta furrowed her brow in confusion and walked closer to the window to see Tino walk away as the shopkeeper continued, "Very different from the rest of us."

The townsfolk stopped to stare at the peculiar man, "He's nothing like the rest of us." One man in particular whistled in his direction but Tino ignored it and walked over a ramp, accidentally making the opposite side shoot up and hit his chin. The man's friends laughed at his misfortune, "Yes, different from the rest of us is Tino."

A gunshot pierced their air, startling a few of the townsfolk out of their fascination with the cute blonde. A few turned their attention to a group of men returning from their morning hunt, a shorter boy followed after his older brother carrying his spoils. Raivis moved to pick up the duck his brother killed, "Wow! You didn't miss a shot, Eduard! You're the greatest hunter in the whole world!"

Eduard blew the smoke away from his gun and rubbed its neck affectionately, "I know."

"Psh, I'm pretty awesome, too," muttered Gilbert quietly to his two younger brothers. "Not my fault that the deer run in the face of the awesome me."

Ludwig and Roderich both rolled the eyes, the blonde swinging his own kill over his shoulder, "Maybe if you spent more time of actually stalking the things instead of chasing Roderich with a spider, you would actually get something."

Eduard walked away from the bickering German siblings and towards the market, Raivis close at his heels as he continued to praise his brother, "No beast alive stands a chance against you. Ha ha ha! And no girl for that matter."

The taller blonde looked through his scope, a grin spread across the older blonde's face when he caught sight of Tino as he stopped to buy some berries. He pulled his little brother towards him and nodded towards the petite man, "It's true, Raivis. But I've got my sights set on that one."

Raivis followed the direction of the gun and furrowed his brows in confusion, "The inventor's brother?"

"He's the one! The lucky one I'm going to marry."

"But he's-"

"The most beautiful thing in town."

"Well, yeah, I know, but-oof!" Raivis grunted in pain as his brother released him, letting him fall unceremoniously onto his rump.

Eduard smirked, "That makes him the best. And don't I deserve the best?"

The young boy looked up with wide eyes, "Of course! I mean you do," his blue eyes darted over to Tino again who was looking at something only visible to him. How could his brother pick him of all people. He was so weird, "But-"

"No! No buts. Right from the moment when I met him, saw him, I said he's gorgeous and I fell." Noticing that Tino was walking towards him with a basket full of berries, Eduard stood taller and checked his reflection in one of the silver platters hanging from the silversmith's window. "Here in town there's only he who is beautiful as me," he stared longingly at himself, running a gloved finger over his defined jaw, "So I'm making plans to woo and marry him."

Eduard looked up with a charming smile in hopes to catch Tino's eye but the smaller man had already walked past him, his eyes glued on the pages of his book. Grunting in annoyance, he tossed his gun over his shoulder to let it rest on his back and stomped after the adorable blonde.

At a well, four girls watched the brooding blonde walk by. They gasped and dropped their buckets, "Look there he goes! Isn't he dreamy?"

Emma rose an eyebrow as her green eyes looked to where her companions were pointing, "Who?"

"Monsieur Eduard," gushed Mei, "oh he's so cute!"

Felicia sighed happily as she placed a hand over her heart, "Be still my heart, I'm hardly breathing!"

Amelia bit her lip and brought her own hands to pat at her blushing cheeks, "He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute."

The Belgian shook her head at her friend's behavior. She didn't see what was so special about Eduard. The man treated his little brother poorly, nothing at all like how her own brother treated her. "And certainly nothing like how Mathias treats Tino," she murmured with a blush of her own. Letting go of the rope to draw more water, Emma picked up her own basket and trotted after the whimsical blonde.

"Pardon," muttered Eduard as he pushed his way through the thick crowed, trying in vain to keep Tino in his line of sight but more people had come out to run their errands. How did the petite blonde maneuver so easily through this!

Around them townsfolk carried about their business, "Bonjour!"

"Good day," chirped another before turning to her companion, "Mais oui…"

Tino vaguely heard someone cry out, "You call this bacon?!"

"What lovely grapes!"

Emma paused at a booth, "Some cheese, please."

"How much?"

"One pound."

"I'll get the knife!"

"Ten yards of fabric please!"

'Did these people need to do this at this very second,' hissed Eduard in his mind. He tapped on an elderly man's shoulder, "Excuse me. Please, let me through!"

Tino flipped the page, a part of him listening to the background noise of townsfolk arguing over bread and fish in hopes to get a better deal. The same thing happened every single day. Sighing, he looked up to walk around someone Lovino punched for insulting his bread, "There must be more than this provincial life!"

"Just watch, I'm going to make Tino my groom," cried Eduard proudly when the crowd settled down in time for Lovi to break the loaf on the poor soul who claimed that his bread was stale. Grinning, the blonde moved to walk through but the townsfolk congregated again to stare after Tino. Eduard jumped on to a passing cart and climbed up the roof of the candle shop. If he wanted the chance to talk to his future groom, there really wasn't another way than to roof hop.

"Look there he goes a man who's strange but special, our most peculiar sweet Tino." They exchanged shrugs, "It's a pity and a sin, he doesn't quite fit in. 'Cause he really is a funny guy. A beautiful but funny guy. He really is a funny guy, that Tino!"

"Hm?" His pale skin prickled where dozens of eyes stared at the back of his head. Turning around, Tino looked at the crowd questioningly but they were all going about their business. Shrugging, the blonde continued on towards home.

"Tino," called Emma breathlessly, "I'm glad I caught you, dear."

"Oh, hello, Emma." Tino placed finger on his spot and closed to his book to shake her hand with the other, "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you." Blushing, the Belgian reached into her basket and took out a small jar, "I made some blackberry preserves and had some extra. I was hoping maybe you could share it with your brother?"

Tino took the jar and smiled, "Sure, thank you! Mathias loves your preserves."

"Really?! I mean…that's good to hear. Er, listen, I have to get going. Lars needs this cheese at the tavern and whatnot."

"Ok. Thanks again for the preserves."

Eduard watched the exchange and waited for Emma to leave before jumping off the roof, "Hello, Tino!"

Unfazed, the Nordic walked around him as he opened the book to where he left off, "Bonjour." It took him a few seconds to realize that the book had been ripped from his hands, "Eduard, may I have my book please?"

"How can you read this," asked Eduard, his face scrunched up with distaste as he paged through the book, "There's no pictures…"

"Well there are a few but mostly I think the author was hoping the reader had an imagination."

"Hm. Well no matter," tossing the book over his shoulder and into a murky puddle, Eduard stepped into Tino's personal space, "You need to get your head out of those fantasy stories and pay more attention to more important matters."

"Important matters?" His pants would get dirty but that was ok, he could wash those. Leather bound books and parchement he could not! Diving after his book, Tino carefully wiped away as much grime with his vest as possible. He felt annoyance gnaw at him but decided to humor the infuriating man. Perhaps if he did, Eduard would leave him alone, "Like what?"

"Me for one," offered Eduard with a smirk. A few feet from him the group of girls Emma had been helping gather water sighed dreamily. Tino however was not so easily swayed. The taller blonde's smirk faultered to the point he had to drop it. Sighing in exasperation, Eduard paced around Tino, "Look, I didn't want to say anything but as your friend I feel I must."

"…Friend?"

Ignoring him, the hunter continued, "The whole town is talking about it. It's just not right for a man to read, let alone a man as pretty as you. I mean what's the point? Books stimulate your brain too much and nothing good ever comes from it. Pretty soon you'll get all these ideas and" he shuddered "thinking."

Tino couldn't help but chuckle dryly, "Eduard, you are positively primeval."

"Why, thank you!" Pride swelled in the hunter's chest. He knew he could make Tino see it his way! Step one in wooing-check. Step two-impress him with your hunting skills. Eduard plucked the book from Tino again, no sense in letting him backtrack in their progress, and draped a heavy arm around his shoulders to lead him away. "Hey what do you say we take a walk over to the tavern and take a look at my trophies?"

"Maybe some other time," chirped Tino as he tried to retrieve his book. Why couldn't Eduard go bother those girls who always followed him around like lost puppies? He spared them a glance when he managed to take the book and mentally shuddered at the glares they were sending his way. "Please, Eduard, I can't." Tino pulled away from the strong grip, "I have to get home to go help my brother, goodbye."

Just as Tino turned to walk away, Raivis sniggered, "That crazy old loon? He needs all the help he can get!" He doubled over in laughter, Eduard joining in.

"Don't talk about my brother that way," snapped Tino irritably, hands on hips and lips pursed in an anger. Really, couldn't he go a day without having to hear his brother was crazy? Could he please?

Eduard immediately stopped laughing and smacked his little brother across the head, "Yeah! Don't talk about his brother that way!" Though, if it made him look that cute, he really didn't see the harm in it.

"My brother is not crazy," continued the shorter blonde, taking a step forward to defend Mathias' honor, "He's a genius." As soon as those words left his mouth, a loud explosion erupted from his house, smoke billowed out from the basement. "Oh my Santa! Hold on, Mathias, I'll be right there!"

Raivis and Eduard chuckled as Tino scurried home.

~.~

Smoke swirled around the cranky Nordic as he coughed violently. Mathias struggled to pull himself up from a barrel, "Doggone it! What on earth happened that time?"

"Big brother," called Tino, taking off his vest and fanned the smoke towards the cellar doors in effort to air out the basement. "Are ya alright?"

"I'm-I'm about to give up on this hunk of junk," growled Mathias irritably. He kicked at the large machine making it regurgitate oil onto his apron.

Tino caught his brother's hand just as the Dane was about to bring down a wrench onto to his favored invention, "Ya always say that."

"I mean it this time." Unable to pull from his brother's surprisingly strong grip, Mathias settled for throwing the wrench at the machine," I'll never get this boneheaded contraption to work!" The lanky blonde sat on his stool and crossed his arms childishly.

"Yes, you will," encouraged Tino as he hugged his brother tightly, "And you'll win first place at the fair tomorrow."

"Hmph!"

Grinning, the slender blonde rested his chin on Mathias' shoulder. "And become the worlds-famous inventor," he added sweetly.

So sweetly that Mathias felt all the frustration leave him instantly. "Do you really believe that, man?"

"I've always have."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" The Dane hopped off of his barrel and slid back under the machine, slipping his goggles with a tiny candle back onto his head, "I'll have this thing fixed in no time! Hand me that…the dog-legged clincher thing."

Tino placed his basket down and dug around his brother's tool box until he found what he needed. It was nice being home. Correction, it was nice being back with Mathias. He never made him feel different…not at all like the townsfolk, not counting his few acquaintances of course. The younger Nordic handed his brother the clincher.

"So, baby bro, did ya have a nice time in town today," asked Mathias from under the machine.

The clattering sounds that came from under there soothed Tino tremendously. That and reading of course. He paged through the still damp pages, "I got a new book." Sighing, he closed it carefully before hugging it to him, "Hey, Mathias?"

"Hm?"

"Do…do ya think I'm odd?"

Mathias slid out to stare at Tino through magnified eyes, "My brother? Odd? Ha! Where on earth would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know." He could say exactly where but that would only force them to move again and at the moment, there wasn't really the means to do so. The last thing he needed was for his brother to go make a spectacle of himself, it would only fuel the already hurtful rumors the townsfolk said about him. So instead, Tino leaned back on the work bench and watched Mathias' work. He could always just leave that part out and say how he felt. No harm in that.

"It's just that I'm not sure I fit in here," he mumbled sadly. "There isn't really anyone I can talk to that isn't taken or-"

"What about that Eduard guy? He's a handsome, fellow."

Tino rolled his eyes, "Yeah, he's handsome alright. And rude and conceited and…oh Mathias, he's not for me." Honestly! He didn't see what those girls saw in that man. Heck, he couldn't see what men saw him. How could anyone hold him as the epitome of greatness? If he had a say in it, he'd vote for his brother hands down. Or even Ludwig or Antonio. Even Gilbert was better than him in his opinion. Ah well, all the good ones were always taken. "Story of my life," grumbled Tino with a wry smile.

Mathias chuckled as he got back up, "Well, don't you worry, little brother." He blew out his candle and set it aside, " 'cause this invention is going to be the start of a new life for us."

"Is it done?"

"I think so. Wanna give it a try?"

"Of course!" Tino put his book aside and held his breath as he pulled the lever. They were rewarded with a loud whistle and various clacking noised. Fearful that it was going to blow up again, the two brothers held each other tightly. When nothing happened the eldest of the two cracked an eye open to check the verdict. Slowly but surely, the machine was starting to heat up nicely and soon the ax started to bob up and down until it cut through a log. A little chime let them know that they should duck.

Log after log soared through the air, landing neatly onto a pile of previously cut firewood. Tino smiled toothily, "It works!"

"It does?" Mathias could hardly believe his eyes. And yet there it was. His baby all fired up and working like no tomorrow. He fist pumped the air happily, "It does!"

"You did it, Matt! You really did it!"

The two brothers jumped excitedly and danced around before Mathias pulled away, "Hitch up Ol' Sardine-Panic, baby brother. I'm off to the fair!"

It had literally taken a little under ten minutes to do what his older brother asked and Tino soon found himself waving at Mathias' retreating form. "Bye, big brother! Goodluck!"

Mathias waved back, "Good bye, Tino. Take care while I'm gone!" The Dane turned back to face the road with a grin, "This trip is going to change everything. I just know it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Once when I went shopping with my sister they were playing this movie on one of those display TVs but it was on mute. I told my sister that I knew (still do) all the lines to the movie by heart. She wanted me to prove it so when the part where Belle asks her dad if she was odd I blurted out out 'My daughter? Odd? Hah! Where on earth would you ever get an idea like that?' weird voice and everything. My sister busted out laughing but mostly it was because I made this older woman stop and stare at me like I was insane. lol I was like 'I regret nothing!' =D


	3. The Proposal and The Prisoner

Birds were chirping playfully around Mathias as he leaned against a tree, munching contently on a slice of toast covered generously in blackberry preserves. He and Panic-Sardine were making good time on their way to the Inventor's Guild Annual Festival having covered twice as much distance than he had anticipated. The Nordic patted the horse's head, "You're doing a good job, boy." He took another bite before offering the last bit to the Clydesdale. "Emma sure is sweet," he said as he watched Panic chew on his treat, "Think she'll want to go on a date with me after I become a famous inventor?"

Panic-Sardine rolled his eyes. Didn't his master know that the girl was probably the only person aside from his brother that actually cared about him? Well, maybe if he'd go into town more than every other blue moon, he'd see. The horse didn't have time to dwell too much his master's romantic affairs, Mathias was already packing up the snacks Tino had packed for him in his satchel.

Pulling out a map to show Panic, Mathias pointed to their destination "See here? This is where we're going. I'm going to take a short nap so I'm trusting you to get us there safely, ok?" The Nordic grinned in satisfaction when the horse nodded in understanding. He rolled up the map again and climbed onto his seat, "Great! Wake me up in an hour, ok? Onward!"

~.~

The bright afternoon sun was beginning to set by the time Mathias woke up from his nap, indicating that Panic-Sardine had forgotten to wake him up as he had been asked. 'Ah, well,' thought the blonde as he stretched, grimacing when he heard his bones pop in protest. He gave a yawn, "Are we there yet, boy?"

Looking around, the Nordic took in his surroundings. Dense fog obscured his vision and there were far more trees than he recalled seeing last year. Pulling out his map he tried to figure out where they were, "That's funny; we should've been there by now. Hold on, Panic. Let me check something out." Mathias moved his lantern towards right where a post stood in between the forked road. "Hm…," muttered, the blonde as he looked from the post to his map repeatedly. The lettering was worn and illegible making all that harder for him to figure out where they were.

Frowning, he shook his head and looked between the two roads, "This doesn't seem right, Panic. Where have you taken us?"

Panic-Sardine snorted. Right cause this was his fault. His master should've been awake and alert to guide him in the right direction! He knew he shouldn't have trusted that damn rabbit…

"Alright," said Mathias tucking the map under his thigh, "we'll go that way. Maybe we'll see a house or something and I can ask for directions." He motioned for the horse to move but Panic-Sardine wouldn't budge. The Clydesdale took one look at the road his master wanted to take then at the other. On one side, the Mathias wanted to go, the trees were far too thick, blocking out the sunlight and had a rather ominous feeling radiating from it. The other, the one he wanted to take, wasn't any better but at least there was sun and didn't look like death would jump out and claim him. Shaking his head at his master, Panic tried to venture down the more cheerful path.

"Oh, no you don't," admonished Mathias as he pulled on the reigns to force his horse to go down the path he wanted, "I'm not letting you navigate anymore. We're going this way and that's that." Shining some light on the road, the blonde continued, "Besides, it's a short cut. We'll be there in no time!"

~.~

Dense fog nipped at Panic-Sardine's legs, making the horse weary about his surroundings. They'd been walking for hours now and the sun had fully retired, letting the moon take its place. The Clydesdale really hated the night, which is why he often allowed for the pig, sheep and chickens to sleep with him in his little stable. Ah, his stable. What he wouldn't give to be back there right now and cuddle up with his friends and the blanket Lilly had made for him for Christmas. He enjoyed sharing it with Dandelion-Misty-Bird the chicken and her sisters and her brother Lord-of-the-Wings. He especially loved it when one of the sheep, usually Super-Death-Ball, would curl in between his front legs so he could use his fleece as a pillow. He wondered what they were doing now.

Panic caught some movement to his right and he slowed his pace. He glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps he'd imagined it. More movement followed by howls sent warning chills along his spine. Ok, maybe he didn't imagine it. With ears pointed upward, Panic-Sardine tried to back up. Mathias looked back down at his map then waved his lantern around in effort to find a familiar landmark, "This can't be right…where have you taken us this time, Panic?" Taking the reins again, he tugged to the right to let the Clydesdale know which way to turn. "Maybe we should just turn around."

The horse didn't take his master's accusation to heart. If he did, he would've bucked him off and high tailed it out of there. It wasn't his fault, he wanted to go the nicer path where there were butterflies and—he felt the wagon hit a tree and before he knew it, dozens of bats came flying out in agitation of being disturbed. Mathias let out a scream at the same time Panic let out a startled yelp before dashing forward in effort to escape the winged terrors

"Woah," cried the Nordic, the hand holding the map releasing it in favor of holding onto his little black hat perched on his head. "Woah, boy, hold on!" Mathias gave a strong tug at the reins to stop Panic from running. Had he not, they would've both tumbled over the cliff. They stared at the sharp drop before the blonde carefully coaxed Panic-Sardine backwards, "Back up, steady now. Steady, that's right. Good boy, back up."

Panic-Sardine's heart was beating ferociously. He'd had enough and wanted to go home now! First bats now cliffs. The only thing he needed to complete this nightmare was those damn wolves that he heard earlier. No later than he thought about the wolves did he hear them again, howling to one another, plotting. Plotting? He heard them howl louder this time. They were close! And not only were they discussing how to split his meat amongst them but that of his master. No! He couldn't let them get to Mathias. Without a second thought, the Clydesdale jerked upwards and managed to knock off his master before taking off, two wolves followed after him.

"No," yelled Mathias, "Panic, come back!" His deep blue eyes widened when he saw that more wolves had taken off after his horse. "Panic," he whispered, hoping that the Clydesdale would hear him but he was long gone. Sighing, he stood up and brushed himself off before bending over to pick up his hat. Eerie growls resonated through the trees and before he knew it a whole pack of wolves was staring down at him hungrily.

Mathias slowly placed his hat back onto his head as he eased backwards, "Uh, nice doggies. Good doggies." The wolves perked their ears up at his voice and the blonde decided that perhaps they wouldn't attack him. Raising his hands in front of him he continued to walk backwards, "Stay…stay…No! Stay! Stay! Oh, shit!" Mathias turned around and ran as fast as he could, wolves hot on his heels.

The foliage and fog made it harder to figure out which way he was going but at this point he couldn't bring himself to care that he was crossing an unfamiliar log bridge. Or that there were flowers that were growing that tended to not grow on his side of the river. All he cared about was escaping the tenacious pack that sounded closer and closer the further he thought he got. Risking a glance over his shoulder, beads of sweat started to roll down his temple as he noticed that he had not put any distance at all between him and the wolves.

"Ah," he yelped when his foot got caught on a uplifted tree rout causing him to roll down a small dirt mound and fall flat on his face. Groaning, he wiped his face with the back of his hand and saw a massive gate a few yards from him. Hungry growls above him made him jump to his feet and run towards the iron bars, "Help! Is someone there? Please, help!"

The two sentry statues sitting above the gate exchanged silent glances. Should they help him? Their master…

"Please," begged Mathias as he shook the gate desperately. He pressed himself against it as the wolves descended the mound and ran towards him. The blonde squeezed his eyes shut, hoping for a swift death but no sooner did he close them did they shoot back open when the gate opened. He fell backwards, using his foot to close it back just as the wolves reached him. One closed his mouth over his leather boot and tried to tear it off. "Let go," grunted the Nordic, pulling his leg back, "of me! Oof!" Mathias crawled backwards as soon as the wolf released its hold on his boot and he let himself fall onto his back.

Rain started to fall by the time the wolves decided to give up and Mathias gathered his bearings. Looking backwards, the Nordic took in the dark castle with a gasp. Weakly, he stood on trembling legs and slowly made his way towards it, hoping that whoever resided inside would be kind enough to let him rest for the night.

~.~

The castle had been bleak for the past four years now. Servants had given up hope that they and their master would ever return to normal. Especially after the final attempts to find him a suitor resulted in people coming to gape at him like some sort of animal at a fair. Berwald had made it clear that no one was allowed in and if they had managed to find a way that they were to be sent to the dungeons.

Ever since that day with the stag, Berwald had been more reclusive and stayed away from his servants save for his most trusted ones. And even they were weary with interacting with their prince. Everyone but Peter and Hana. The boy and dog were the only ones that weren't put off completely by his sudden mood swings. Berwald was still their father and caretaker, beast or not. And that meant more to him than he was able to express in his current form. It certainly helped him cling on to his last shreds of humanity. Of course that didn't mean that he didn't have bursts of animalistic tendencies.

This was why Arthur and Francis were currently resting on the marbled table in the foyer. They had to make sure not to let Berwald outside and he still had enough self-awareness to not hurt them when they did. The candelabra sighed, "Hey, Arthur?"

"What," grunted Arthur sleepily.

"Do…do you think we'll ever-"

"Stop asking me that, Frog. I hate it when Alfred asks me. I hate it when Peter asks me and I hate it when Alice asks me. So please, just shut up and let me nap."

Francis rolled his eyes and was about to retort when the door suddenly swung open. His waxy eyes widened in shock when a man entered hesitantly. He nudged his clock companion awake and pointed at the blonde with a candled hand. "Look," he whispered, "Poor fellow must've lost his way in the woods."

"H-h-hello," called out Mathias. He ran his hands over the wet sleeves of his black coat hoping to warm the skin underneath.

Knowing what their master would do if he caught the visitor, Arthur thought it best to not say anything. Maybe if he didn't think anyone lived here he would leave. The clock hissed to his companion to keep his mouth shut.

Mathias turned around sharply, "Is someone there?"

Both objects stood still and he passed by not giving them a second glance. Arthur glared at his companion, "see?"

"All I see is a sexy man who could possibly break this spell. Maybe the master won't mind him staying?"

"Nonsense, he's too old for Berwald."

"He can't be a day over thirty."

"Who said that," whispered Mathias as he backed up against the table. His teeth chattered in both nerves and cold, "I-I don't m-mean to intrude b-but I lost m-m-m," he sneezed and wiped his nose with his sleeve miserably, "I lost my horse and I needed a place to stay for the n-night."

Francis' heart broke for the poor Nordic and he looked over to Arthur, "Come on, mon ami, have a heart."

But the clock didn't want to risk it. Not for his sake but for the innocent man before him. If Berwald threw him against a wall, he could be fixed and put back together. The same could be said should he be thrown in the dungeon . He was a clock for goodness sake so he didn't need to eat or drink or preform any human functions. But this stranger would die in a matter of days if he was doomed the dungeon. Worse yet, killed instantly if throne against a wall. So no, he wasn't being heartless by not speaking up. If anything he was doing the right thing. Reaching out with a brass hand, he covered Francis' mouth to keep him quiet, "Shush!"

Narrowing his eyes, Francis brought on of his hands under Arthur's hands and waited for the metal to turn red under his flame. The Brit let out a yelp and removed his hand allowing the candelabra to speak, "Of course, monsieur, you are welcomed here!"

Mathias jumped in surprise and tried to see through the darkness, "Who said that?"

"Over here."

"Where?" The blonde grabbed Francis and waved him in front of him in effort to find out who was talking to him. He felt a tap on his head and he looked up, eyes widening at seeing the candelabra in his hands grin.

"Hello, mon ami!"

Mathias yelped again, dropping Francis brusquely back on the table making his flames disappear. Now more intrigued than frightened the Nordic approached him in awe, "Incredible!"

"Well, now you've done it, Frog," hissed Arthur as he waddled over to his comrade, helping him slide his candles back into place. He glanced wearily at Mathias who was still eyeing them both curiously. He wasn't that bad looking. Maybe Berwald would be interested if he just over looked the age diff—"Oi!" Arthur struggled in Mathias' hand as the Nordic looked over his body, "Put me down at once!"

"How is this accomplished?" Mathias turned the clock upside down and lightly scratched at his back making Arthur giggle.

"Stop that, you git, it tickles! Stop that I say. Ow," he groaned when the blonde suddenly turned the knobs behind his head used normally to adjust the hands on his face. He glared at Francis as the candelabra chuckled at his misfortune.

Alfred heard Arthur's angry cries and hustled over to the foyer. Had he had hands he would've clenched them into tight fists at the sight of some stranger opening the clock's glass chest piece and play with his pendulum. Shaking his head, the coat rack plucked Arthur from the blonde's hands, "Dude, stop manhandling my boyfriend!" Arthur gripped at Alfred's wooden knobs and glared angrily at the floor, his face tinged red with embarrassment. No. Berwald wouldn't like this one at all. He was too touchy and not in the good way.

"I'm sorry," exclaimed Mathias, "It's just that I've never seen anything l-li," he wiggled his nose, "l-l-like—Achoo!"

The coat rack barely had time to turn away to keep the moist particles from fogging up Arthur's face. He turned back around and eyed the blonde in sympathy, "Dude, are ya sick?"

Mathias sniffed, "I don't think so."

"He's soaked to the bone, mon ami." Francis hopped off the table and gently nudged Mathias towards the sitting room, "Come, monsieur. Come warm yourself by the fire."

"Thanks, man."

"What," exclaimed Arthur incredulously, "No! He can't stay. He needs to leave at once! You'll know what the master will do if he finds him here." The clock flailed in the coat rack's arms in protest, "I insist that you stop right there!" He gasped when he saw where Francis had led him, "Oh no, not that master's chair!"

Hana barked cheerfully from her basket before jumping out and running excitedly to their guest. She wagged her tassels as Mathias patted her gently, "Why hello there-er, boy?" He looked behind her tassels and smiled, "Sorry, I mean girl."

"I'm not seeing this! I'm not seeing this!" Arthur covered his face to keep himself from seeing anymore hospitality. Didn't these idiots remember what happened to the last few people who stumbled into their castle uninvited? From the corner of his eye he saw movement in the shadows. He prayed that it was one of the larger servants and not Berwald. As kind as he had been with them as of late, he didn't want to press their luck by defying his orders in keeping strangers out.

Alfred carefully lowered his boyfriend back onto the floor, "Come on, Artie. Don't be like that. The poor dude could be good for the master." He trudged over to the linen closet and pulled out a warm blanket to wrap around Mathias after taking off his wet coat.

The Nordic thanked him and giggled when Hana burrowed her way under his feet and stood to let him prop them up, "My, what service! Tino would love it here."

"Alright," snapped Arthur irritably, "this has gone far enough. I'm in charge here and—ah!" He groaned in misery as his sister's cart drove over him.

Alice smiled kindly at Mathias, "How would you like a nice spot of tea, sir? It will warm you up in no time." She bent over and allowed the hot liquid to pour out of her snout and into a chipped tea cup.

"No. No tea. No tea!" He pointed an angry finger at his subordinates but they ignored him.

"Thank you," murmured Mathias, taking the cup and sniffing it deeply before bringing his lips to the rim. Giggles startled him and he nearly spilled the hot tea all over himself.

Peter smiled sheepishly at him and Alice, "Sorry, it's just that his scruff tickled me, sissy."

The blonde held the tea cup in the palm of his hand and grinned, "Heh, sorry little guy."

Movement was heard in the foyer followed by loud sniffing. The gust created by the entrance door slamming shut again threw open the doors to the sitting room and blew out fireplace. The servants immediately cowered in fear behind Hana as the dog whimpered nervously. Mathias confused by the sudden change in mood tried looked around to see what had frightened them so but Peter shook his head. "Don't, mister. My papa doesn't like it when people look at him."

Mathias was about to ask the cup who his father was when he heard an animalistic growl that sounded like a cross between that of a wolf's and a lions. Remembering the fiasco he just escaped a while ago, the Nordic curled into himself and pulled the blanket tighter around him. 'Please, don't let it be the wolves,' he thought to himself anxiously. 'Please, don't let it be the wolves.'

A monstrous shadow loomed over him with horns protruding from what looked like the silhouette of a lion's head. Mathias changed his mind, 'Please let it be a wolf. Please let it be a wolf!'

Berwald's pupils dilated as he finally figured out where the scent was coming from. The territorial part of him came out as the scent became stronger, especially since it was being smeared all over his favored chair. Curling his lip, his back fur fizzled out defensively, "There's a strang'r in here." He descended the small stairs on all fours, his nose still pressed to the ground and tail twitching anxiously.

"M-master," stuttered Francis trying to sooth Berwald's rage. "Please allow me to explain. The gentleman was lost in the woods. He was cold and wet and-"

Berwald cut him off with any angry roar; he didn't want to hear his reasons. Hell, he'd seen the blonde as soon as he step foot through the gates and had admittedly been relieved that the wolves hadn't gotten to him. The man was attractive and a part of him thought that maybe, maybe he could break the spell, particularly after seeing him interact with his servants. But there was something off about this one. Something that he couldn't figure out and perhaps it was his smell. Though there were lingering tones of something that made him alluring, it wasn't enough for Berwald to push past the beast and see him as a potential mate.

And now seeing and smelling him up close, well, there was something about this blonde that made him want to punch him in the face.

Arthur coughed to get his attention, "Master, I'd like to take this moment to say…I was against this from the start. It was all that Frog's fault! I tried to stop them but would they listen to me? No!" He gasped and hid behind Alfred when Berwald roared again. Oh well, he tried. Green weary eyes peeked over to see Mathias' frozen form, Peter still in his palm.

Gulping at the feel of hot air being breathed down his neck, Mathias risked looking to his right and jumped in fright, "Good grief!"

He watched as the beast carefully took the cup from his hand and placed him on the cart next to the tea pot that had served him tea before returning its fierce glare to him, "Who are ya? What d' ya want?!"

It talked. Oh, it talked! Gathering himself as best as he could Mathias tried to stutter out a response but found that he couldn't seem to get his tongue to work. Still, for his self-preservation, he had to try. "I-I-I was lost in the woods and-"

"Yer not welcomed h're!"

"I..I'm sorry, I didn't mean any harm!" He couldn't stop staring at the thing before him. Wait. Didn't the cup say something about his papa not liking to be stared at? But…this beast couldn't possibly have sired that sweet thing, right?

"What are ya staring at," growled Berwald noting how the trembling blonde before him couldn't diverge his eyes from his face. He knew it.

"N-nothing, sir," said Mathias finally after swallowing the lump in his throat. His eyes strayed down to the beast's elongated snout where sharpened canines resided with the promise of being able to tear off his flesh.

Berwald chuckled bitterly. He knew this one wasn't any different from the rest. "So, ya came t' stare th' beast have ya?"

Mathias yelped and turned around to run but Berwald swiftly cut off his path, "I swear I'm not, man. Please! I just needed a place to stay." He yelped again when the beast picked him up by his collar, "Please don't eat me! I promise I'm not as tasty as I look."

The beast rolled his eyes. Why did everyone think he was going to eat them? Sure he enjoyed a nice raw stag every once in a while but Peter made him promise to cut back and start eating like a normal person. Shaking his head in annoyance he walked out of the room, "I'm not gonna eat ya, ya idiot. I'm gonna g've ya a place t' stay."

"No,wait! Where are you taking me? Please, no. No!"

Dandelion-Misty-Bird and her siblings walked out of the stable, clucking their greeting to the sheep and Chris P. Bacon the pig before their afternoon routine. They scratched at the dirt hoping to find a snack to keep their bellies satisfied until Tino fed them. Lord-of-the-Wings clucked curiously at the movement in the shrubbery near the cottage. What kind of freak lurked behind bushes was beyond him. Ah well. Tino was strong enough to ward off any unwanted guests.

Smoke bustled out the chimney from the quaint cottage signifying that Tino was in fact home, much to Eduard's glee. Beside him Raivis giggled into his hand, "Boy, Tino is going get the surprise of his life, isn't he big brother?"

"Yep," chirped the older blonde happily, "Today is his lucky day." He stood up and stretched his long limbs, letting the branch he'd been holding back smack his brother in the face. Eduard cleared his throat to get his guests' attention. Lovino and Antonio were fussing over the cake while Ludwig and Lars set up the kegs of beer. Beside them Feli sat on one of the barrels kicking his feet back and forth while twirling a paint brush in his hand. Matthew stood nervously next to Gilbert and as far away from the three sobbing girls Emma was trying to console.

Eduard smoothed his hair back. "I just want to thank you guys for coming to my wedding," he said proudly before adding, "But first I have to go in there and propose to the guy." Guests chuckled good naturedly not at all aware that he wasn't kidding. Shrugging, he pulled his little brother close to him, "As for you, Raivis, when Tino and I come out of that door…"

"Oh I know," exclaimed Raivis, taking out his baton, "I know. I'll strike up the band!" He squirmed out of his brother's grasp and started moving his arms wildly, leading the musicians into a fast paced melody. Roderich rolled his eyes at the noise and turned back to the discussion with his wife. He'd been trying and failing to convince her that she and Kiku should not attempt to force Tino into a dress.

The hunter smacked Raivis across the head and hissed, "Not yet you idiot!"

"Sorry, Eduard."

"Right, well, here I go."

~.~

Tino was nestled comfortably in his chair reading another book he had picked up from the book store earlier that morning. Gilbert had recommended it to him enthusiastically because it was about an albino bell ringer in Paris who fell in love with a magician's assistant. So far he had to say that he was enjoying it and was particularly fond of the gypsies. Closing his eyes, he hugged his book to his chest and giggled, "That's so sweet!" He reached out for his mug of hot chocolate for a sip when he heard a rapid knocking at the door.

Sighing, Tino placed his mug back down and carefully laid his book flat so to not lose his page. "Who on earth is that," he wondered as he wiped his hands on his pants before pulling down the goggles his brother installed to look outside. Eduard's face came into view making him groan to himself. What on earth did that brute want? He shook his head and moved to lock the door. There was no way he was going to let him—

The door swung open as soon as Eduard realized it was unlocked, "Hi there, Tino."

"Eduard," gasped the shorter blonde, "w-what pleasant surprise."

"Isn't it though? I'm just full of surprises." Eduard smirked at the flush blooming on his future fiancé's face. He took a step forward and beamed, "You know, Tino, there isn't a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes."

Tino looked down at his black flats, "My shoes? They're nothing special really. Toris makes them in girl sizes too." Actually, they probably were for girls but as soon as he saw them he couldn't pass them up. He liked to walk barefoot through the meadow when playing with their animals and stick his feet in the water so the flats were convenient to remove and put on easily. Perhaps that's what he was talking about. "I can see why girls like them though. They're a lot easier than boots to…to…uh, what are ya doing?" The blond looked at Eduard wearily as the taller made himself comfortable on Tino's favorite chair.

"You're adorable, Tino. But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Oh?"

"Mhm. You see, this is the day where all your dreams come true."

Tino walked around to the other side of the table to pull away his mug of chocolate before Eduard helped himself to it. "And what do ya know about my dreams?"

"Plenty!" Eduard propped his muddied boots on the dining table, splattering mud all over Tino's book. Ignoring the Nordic's cry of indignation, he continued, "Here, picture this. A rustic hunting lodge with my latest kill roasting by the fire." He paused to kick off his boots, "And my little groom massaging my feet while the little ones play with the dogs."

Discomfort was settling in Tino's belly. He knew where this was going…Sure he liked to feign ignorance to what the towns folk said about him but that didn't mean he wasn't well aware of the gossip. Unfortunately that also meant knowing that Eduard wanted him in a way he most certainly didn't want to be wanted. Not by him at least. Tino pulled his book out from under Eduard's feet and wiped it clean.

Before he knew it Eduard was on his feet again and only inches away, "And we'll adopt six or seven you know."

Tino chuckled weakly, "Dogs?"

"No, silly. Strapping boys like me!"

"Heh heh, that sounds great." Tino backed away to put his book away on its shelf.

"And do you know who that little groom will be?"

"Let me think…"

"You, Tino," whispered Eduard hotly into the shorter man's ear.

Tino gulped nervously when he felt a hand on his waist. He ducked under Eduard's other arm and continued to back away, "I…I-Eduard, I'm speechless!" The Nordic watched as Eduard shoved his chair out the way and walked slowly up to him, "I really don't know what to say."

Eduard backed Tino against the door and placed both arms on either side of his head to prevent him from escaping. He smirked, "Say you'll marry me."

"I'm very sorry, Eduard, but…" Violet eyes widened in horror as Eduard leaned his face in attempt to kiss him. Oh no! He couldn't let his first kiss be stolen from him and let alone by Eduard. "But," reaching behind him he grasped for the door handle, "but I just don't deserve you!" Tino yanked to door open and dodged the kiss, letting Eduard fall out and stumble into the murky pond. He blinked in surprise when he heard music from behind the shrubbery but shrugged it off. Perhaps there was a festival going on. He plucked Eduard's boots and tossed them out before shutting the door, this time locking all five bolts.

"Ve," cried Feliciano in alarm. He hopped off his barrel and helped the hunter out of the dirty water, "Eduard, are you ok? Oh!"

With hand firmly gripped around the Italian's throat, Eduard snarled angrily, "I will have Tino for my groom. Make no mistake about that!" He tossed him into the water and picked up his boots before shoving his little brother in the direction of the town.

Gilbert grabbed Ludwig by his arm just as the angry German was about to follow after Eduard, "Nein, bruder! Just…go take care of Feli. He needs you." He watched his brother's anger simmer down at the mention of his lover and let him go to fetch the crying Italian out of the water. Shaking his head he motioned for everyone to pick up and leave.

An hour later, at the insitant scratching at his door, Tino poked his head out to see Dandelion and her siblings eating out of the bucket of feed. "Is he gone," he asked them. Looking around, he saw no sign of the annoyance and stepped out in a huff. "Can ya imagine that, guys? He asked me to marry him."

The blonde shooed away the chickens to get the bucket and scatter feed on the ground, "Me! Married to that boorish, brainless—Gah!" Growling in frustration, he gave the rest of the feed to the chickens before placing the bucket aside. "Tino Von Bock. Can't you just see it?" The sheep exchanged glances with one another. "Tino Von Bock, his little groom." Narrowing his eyes, Tino kicked a barrel angrily, "No, sir, not me. I guarantee it. I want so much more than this provincial life!"

Kicking off his shoes, he ran out to towards the meadow behind his cottage. Somehow it felt so liberating to feel dampened earth under his bare feet as he ran. He ran until he found his special spot, a fairy circle where he had made a little house for the fairies and often left snacks. Tino lifted his head high to enjoy to afternoon breeze's caress on his face, "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell." He slowly lowered himself to the ground and checked to see if the fairies had eaten the berries he left for them. They did. He knew it! He knew they were real!

His older brother had always told them that fairies were real but when he tried to ask Lovino if he had any fairy sized bread the Italian had chuckled thinking he'd been kidding. The same had happened with all his other acquaintances now that he thought about it. The only other person he that hadn't laughed was the prince who visited him in his dreams and that was nice and all but…he wanted someone real to talk to and not feel like an oddity. "And for once it might be grand…to have someone understand."

Tino smiled sadly and plucked a dandelion, holding it carefully in his hand, "I want so much more than they've got planned." He watched the breeze carry the dandelion's fuzzy seeds away in its arms, wishing that he could just grab on to one and let it carry him too. His musings were interrupted by alarmed whining, "What on earth…Panic-Sardine? What are ya doing here, boy? Where's—where's Mathias?"

The Clydesdale neighed at his master, trying to communicate what had occurred. Tino reached out and tried to soothe him, "Steady boy, steady." He led him back to the house and unhooked the wagon before slipping his shoes back on and pulling his riding cloak over his shoulders. "Alright, Panic, take me to my brother."


	4. Tino's Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Berwald's speech pattern is a pain to write lol...there may be some inconsistencies but I'm going to try my best to make them as few as possible. Thanks again for reading.

"Pity about that one, eh, Kyle," mumbled Christian slowly from his post on top of the stone wall. The marble sentry stared into the distance while his companion looked towards the sky. They'd heard their master's roars followed by screams and had let out a sigh. There went their chances of becoming human again.

"We never should've let him in." Kyle reached down and held on to the gate to keep it from creaking, "We aren't going to let anyone else in."

Christian sighed again, "That's not fair."

"No, what's not fair is us letting people in knowing what Berwald will do to them. I won't have any more blood on my hands."

"Hey now, no one said anything about there being blood." Christian lowered his own hand to grip the gate shut as well, "We only have a few weeks until it's his birthday and I don't know about you but I'm pretty tired being stuck like this." When his companion didn't say anything, the sentry rolled his eyes, "I'm also getting tired of only talking to you."

"Quiet," hissed Kyle, "Someone's coming." They watched in silence as a short blonde and his horse walked up to the gate.

Tino pulled his hood off his head as he and Panic approached the castle. Anxiety was gnawing at his belly, eating his insides almost rabidly as soon as his horse deviated from the path that would take him to the Inventor's Guild Annual Festival. His nerves were almost near breaking point the deeper they ventured into the thick woods though it wasn't necessarily all from fear. Sure the dense fog and occasional whine from Panic-Sardine at every howl he heard did little to soothe him, but it was the fact that there was absolutely no sign of Mathias, save a broken lamp that, that had him twisting the fabric of his cloak until it wrinkled.

Panic-Sardine whined in protest when his master hopped off his back and touched the gate. Tino patted his head reassuringly, "Shh, Panic, its ok. We'll be fine." Gasping, the blonde slid through the bars and picked up his brother's little black hat. "Mathias, where are you?" He ventured towards the castle itself in hopes that the Dane had sought shelter inside from the cold.

The older of the two sentries grinned at his companion, "Come on, Kyle, this one is definitely the one. You'll see; Berwald won't hurt him."

Kyle rubbed the back of his head and opened the gate to let the horse in after his master, "For his sake, I hope you're right."

~.~

The screams had died down sometime earlier that morning much to every one's relief. Mathias had actually managed to escape Berwald's grasp just as the prince was going to offer him a room and had ran in the direction of the dungeon. With Berwald at his heals, the blonde had also locked himself in a cell, the one that nobody had the key for. The prince had spent most of the day trying to find the key and eventually gave up and instead had Arthur dig up a drawing of the key so that he could make another one. Peter had wanted to help but Berwald simply patted him gently and told him to stay inside lest he get hurt.

The little cup had also wanted to go talk to Mathias some more, maybe ask him if he would marry his papa when he got him out but Alice told him that it wouldn't be a good idea. It wasn't that he hated being a cup…rather he wasn't fond of it. His choices for what he could do for fun were severely limited do riding Hana around the house and…well maybe swimming in Alice's wash bin, but that lost its charm after a while.

"Hello? I-is anyone here? Hello! Big brother! Big brother, are you in here?"

Peter looked up from where he was sitting with Hana and saw another blonde enter the castle through the foyer. He grinned and motioned for his dog to take him to the kitchen, "Alice, guess what?!"

"What is it?" Alice pulled herself straight after pouring water into her bin. She watched as the other dishes jumped in for their bath before looking at her little brother, tiredly.

"There's another man in the castle!"

The Teapot rose an eyebrow, "Now, Peter, what have I said about making such wild stories?"

"It's not a story, sissy, I saw him. I bet papa will love him."

"Not another word, young man." She lifted up her young brother by his handle and deposited him in the bin, "Be sure to soak a while."

"Miss Alice, Miss Alice," cried Michelle as she skidded to a stop in front of the Kirkland siblings, her dust covered feathers flying around her excitedly, "There's a man in the castle! Oh, he's so adorable!"

Alice blinked and turned to her brother who giggled from under the water, "See? I told, ya."

~.~

"Couldn't keep quiet, could we," snapped Arthur irritably as he paced on a small table. "Just had to invite him to stay, didn't we? Serve him tea, sit in the master's chair. Pet the pooch!"

Francis crossed his arms with a huff, "I was just trying to be hospitable."

"Hospitable? No, you were just being an irresponsible, devil-may-care, waxy-eared, slack jawed…" Arthur trailed off when he heard a voice call out 'Mathias.'

Both he and Francis froze as Tino stuck his inside the room they were in, "Big Brother? Where are you?" Shaking his head in disappointment, the blonde stepped back out and continued his search.

"Did you see that," asked Francis in wonder, "It's a man!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I know it's a man. What of it, frog?"

"Don't you see? He's the one. The one we've been waiting for. He's come to break the spell!"

"Yeah, that's what you said about the other—Oi, where are you going? Did you learn nothing from yesterday?!" Arthur scrambled after the candelabra just as Francis opened the door that led to the dungeon. The clock pulled Francis behind the door, "Are you mad? What if Berwald sees him?"

"He's going to love him, you'll see." Francis winked at Arthur and hurriedly hopped up the stairs so that Tino would follow him.

The blond tightened his cloak around him. Something was incredibly off about this place but he couldn't leave; not without his brother at least. He saw a glow going up the stairs and trailed after it, "Hey, wait! I'm looking for my brother and—huh…that's funny." Nobody was around save for a candelabra sitting alone on one of the shelves. Tino walked passed it and down the rows of empty cells, "I could've sworn I saw somebody…I-is anybody here?"

"Tino," croaked Mathias as he sat up in his cell, "Little brother, is that you?"

Rushing forward, Tino let himself fall to his knees so that he could reach through the bars, "Mathias?" Cold fingers wrapped around his warmer ones, "You're hands are ice cold! How did—never mind, we need to get you out of here." He took in the Dane's appearance; his skin was flushed and slicked with perspiration, his still wet clothes clung to his body and his blonde hair fell limply around him as if to mimic his sickly body.

Despite it all, Mathias managed a small smile, "I'm glad I could see you again, little brother, but you have to get out of here."

"Are ya crazy? I'm not leaving without you!"

"You have to," argued the elder Nordic, wincing at his sore throat. "He'll get you too if you stay."

Tino furrowed his eyebrows, "He? He who? Who did this to you?"

"There's no time to explain." Mathias tried to pry his fingers away from Tino's hand but his younger brother was strong. "Tino, please you have to go. "

"I said no." Looking around for something to help him get his brother out, Tino finally found a sturdy piece of metal. He quickly picked it up and placed it against the door, "I'll get you out, you'll see."

As he worked diligently, Mathias continued to beg him to leave in between bursts of coughs. Berwald hid in the shadows as he stared at the man in wonder. He'd just come up from forging a new key to let Mathias out and had caught scent of something that made his heart skip a beat. It smelled just like the loud mouth blonde that had gotten himself stuck inside the dungeon only more potent. Curiosity got the better of him and Berwald had decided to follow the sweet smell in hopes to find what was causing it.

A petite blonde with soft features certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting. Berwald watched as Tino brought a swift kick to the metal bar, the sturdy wood of the cell still holding strong but he knew that it was only a matter of time before it would yield. Perhaps he wasn't all that soft after all. Still…it took great courage to even come this far and seeing the man working so tenaciously to free the loud mouth Nordic, it gave Berwald a sense of hope that maybe this one could be the one.

He sniffed the air quietly again and felt himself blush under his fur, 'He smells really good, like pine trees and earth. I could certainly get used to that smell.' Shaking his head, Berwald brought a paw to his snout. What was he thinking? As soon as he'd get a look at him, the man would no doubt leave him without giving him a chance. The beast inside him chuckled cruelly, but the man had fought his way through with vigor, 'Ya don't know if ya don't try.'

There was only a few weeks left to his birthday if memory served him correctly. That panic was starting to grate at his nerves. Most of his servants had lost hope but he still had those few that haven't, Peter being one of them. Maybe it was fate that the idiot blonde had gotten himself trapped in that cell; without him, this other nicer smelling one wouldn't have come along. And here he thought he would have to try his luck, and patience, courting him.

But if he wanted for things to go well, these next few minutes were going to be critical. Berwald pocketed the key in his tattered clothes and sat back on his haunches and thought. The beast didn't give him much time to plan out a strategy, lashing out at his more human side at the sight of more wooden slivers falling to the ground with another kick from the petite man.

Mathias looked over his brother's shoulder and panicked, "Run, Tino!"

"No! Not without yo—oh!" Tino yelped in surprise when he felt something large grip his arm back to pull his torch away from him. The little light that they had dissolved into darkness with the exception of the beam that snuck in from a hole in the ceiling. He strained his eyes to see who had touched him.

"Tino! You stay away from my baby brother, you monster!"

Tino backed up until his back was pressed against his brother's cell. His mind was racing a mile a minute as he tried to figure out where the person who had touched him was standing. He called out, "Who's there? Who are you?"

Tugging at his fur, in hopes that the pain would keep his irrational anger at bay, Berwald griped at the marble pillar he was hiding behind. When he was sure that he wouldn't lash out again, he finally spoke up, mentally wincing at how harsh his voice sounded, "Th-th' mast'r of this castle. What are ya doin' here?"

Tino closed his eyes despite not being able to see much aside from a large shadow. He hadn't expected for the person to sound like gravel. Still, he forced his eyes open and stood on his knees, "I've come for my brother. Can't you see he's sick?" As if to prove his point, Mathias fell into a coughing fit. "What were you even thinking sticking him in there in the first place?!" The blonde gasped and covered his mouth. He didn't mean to say that last part out loud but with his brother coughing up a lung, it sort of just happened.

Berwald's claws dug into the stone and before he got a chance to keep his temper in check, he growled out, "He shouldn't h've trespassed then if he didn't want t' get locked up!"

"But he could die," cried the Nordic in a panic. He wrapped his hand around the one Mathias had gripped around the bars, "Please, I'll do anything. Just please let him go."

The begging soothed the monster within but not enough to reach Berwald's humanity. Shaking his head pulled his tattered cloak around his body and turned away, "Th're is nothing you can do. He's my prison'r now."

'No, wait that came out wrong', hissed Berwald at himself, 'We're supposed to show him we're good! If we let his brother out, he'll trust me. If he trusts me he won't fear me. If he doesn't fear me he could love me.'

"Wait!" Berwald vaguely felt a tug on his cloak, making him freeze and curl his tail around his feet. Tugging insistently, Tino crawled closer to the man and looked up with wide eyes. The light made him look angelic, almost making his skin glow paler. He bit his lip and turned to look at his brother once before making his mind, "Take me instead."

Berwald swallowed thickly, marveling at how cute the man looked before turning away, "Y-you would take his place?" Well this certainly wasn't how he had planned on things to go but he would take what he could.

"No," shouted Mathias. "No, he won't. Tino, don't do it!"

Ignoring his brother asked again, "If I did, will ya let him go?"

The prince carefully turned around so that he faced the small blonde but still stayed hidden in the shadows, "Yes, but ya h've t' promise you'll stay here forev'r."

Tino rubbed his arms nervously. Forever? He had figured that he could make a run for it with Mathias as soon as the guy let his brother out. He looked at his brother again who sent him a pleading look and shook his head slowly. No, he couldn't do that. Mathias needs help; he'll die if he didn't promise. Only problem…he was a man of his word stranger or not. And who knew? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living here; if not then he could make a run for it later. He was a fast runner after all…but then again so could this guy. Looking back at the shadows, he squinted. Maybe if he knew what the man looked like, he could assess his chances of survival.

Berwald waited patiently for the small blonde to make his decision, his heart racing wildly at the prospect of him saying yes. He shifted his weight from one paw to another, time panning out a lot longer than he thought and felt himself grow frustrated. But before snapped, Tino spoke up, "Will ya come to the light? I want to look at you in the eye."

Clenching his jaw, Berwald backed away until he felt his back hit the stone wall. No. He couldn't do that! The little angel would leave for sure and where would that leave him? Curling his tail around his feet again, the prince sat on his haunches and shook his head, "Nh."

Tino frowned and tilted his head to the side, "How do ya expect me to stay with ya if I don't even know what ya look like?"

"He's a freaking beast, Tino," screeched Mathias grabbing at his brother's shoulders to shove him towards the exit. "Run now while you still can!"

"Mathias," admonished Tino, when he saw the shadowy form curl in on itself. "That's no way to talk about someone."

The older Nordic stared at his brother like he'd grown another head, "He freakin' locked me up!"

"And I'm tryin' ta getcha out! Shut up and let me handle this." Turning back to Berwald he moved a bit closer, "Please, I would like to see ya."

"Nh…" Berwald contemplated it for a few more seconds and figured that it would be for the best if he did as Tino asked. Slowly and carefully, as to not frighten the poor man, he stepped paw first into the tiny beam of moonlight. He tried not to let it sting too much when Tino yelped in fright and fell backwards. Ashamed, Berwald looked down at his dirty paws and rubbed the back of his head. He should just let them go…

"Ok."

"What," screeched Mathias just as Berwald widened his eyes in disbelief.

Tino took a deep breath to calm his nerves and walked up to Berwald, "Y-ya have my word."

'Oh sweet carpentry! He agreed,' cried Berwald mentally. 'He actually agreed ta stay!' Without thinking twice, Berwald reached into his pocket and pulled out the key, "Done." He moved to release Mathias and in his excitement, he didn't pay much attention to the way, Tino crumbled to the floor in silent tears.

Mathias ducked under Berwald's arm and crawled over to his little brother, "No, Tino, take it back. Tell him ya won't do it. You don't have to do it. I'm old, I've lived my life!"

Curling deeper into his older brother's embrace, Tino managed a small laugh, "You're only eight years older than me, silly." He was about to return the hug when he fell forward on his face. Confused, the young Nordic looked up in time to see the beast drag his brother out the door, "No, wait!"

"Tino!"

"Wait!"

On their way down the stairs and out the castle, Mathias thrashed his legs and arms in protest. He even tried grabbing onto the furniture but the table simply tugged it's leg out of his grip and sniffed indignantly at him. Extending his arms and legs out he dug the feet into the door frame while his fingers did the same. The Nordic whimpered as Berwald tugged on his coat in effort to dislodge him, "Please, take me back. I'll let you eat me but please just spare my brother!"

Berwald scoffed, "I don't w'nt ta eat ya." Grabbing him from around his waist, the prince maneuvered them both out the door and up to a carriage. "Don't worry 'bout him. He's no long'r yer conc'rn." He stuffed the Dane into the carriage and shut the door, "Take him to th' village."

The carriage shivered as it sprouted spider like legs. From above the towers, Tino watched through tears as Mathias was transported away, his loud yowls for release and for his brother becoming a whisper the further away he got. The blonde's lip quivered until he couldn't keep it in any longer. He curled up in the hay against the window and cried into his brother's hat, breathing in the inventor's scent.

Francis sighed sadly from his spot on the shelf and rubbed at his waxy head with his other candle. He could hear Tino's broken sobs through the dungeon and couldn't help but feel guilty. On the plus side, Mathias would be able to get some help for that nasty cough he'd developed over night. Heavy footsteps echoed upward and the candelabra realized that Berwald was coming back up. Francis waddled to the edge, "Uh…master?" He fell onto his rump when the prince stopped in front of him, his stoic blue eyes seemingly glaring at him in a silent question. "I w-was just thinking that, since the boy is going to be staying with us for quite some time…that perhaps we could offer him a more comfortable room?"

Berwald rose an eyebrow at how Francis ended his though in a question. He'd seriously thought that they were past this by now about apparently he still frightened the poor man. Nodding, the prince continued his trek to his small guest.

"Ya didn't even let me say goodbye," cried Tino as soon as Berwald walked up to the cell. He brought his knees up to his chest in a fetal position and covered his face, "I'll never see him again and I d-didn't get ta say g-good bye!" His tears ran like ferocious little rivers down his reddened cheeks and the sobs that burst through his trembling frame were heartbreaking.

Even the animal inside him felt guilty at the sight. In his eagerness to start the courtship, something that he couldn't do with the loudmouthed brother present, he hadn't considered Tino's feelings. Strike one.

Wrapping his paw around the corner of his cloak, Berwald thought about what Francis said. He spoke slowly so to not further excite the poor blonde, "I'll…I'll show ya t' yer room."

"M-my room?" Tino slowly sat up and hugged his brother's hat to him, "But I thought…" He glanced around the tiny cell then looked back at the beast, "I thought this was where I was going to s-stay…"

Berwald looked around as well, mentally taking measurements and assessing whether this would make proper living quarters for his little guest. It was unacceptable. He would barely be able to fit a bed in here let alone one big enough for them to be able to cuddle-woah! Berwald flushed under his fur and shook his head. Now wasn't the time for such nonsense. First thing first was to calm down Tino. Then they could move up his mental check list of their courtship.

He motioned around him, "Do…do ya really want t' stay in th' tow'r?" Tino shook his head 'no' and Berwald couldn't help but think that the man was adorable. The prince walked back out and motioned for the other to follow after him, "Then come with me."

Tino meekly trailed after the beast, making sure that he stayed a few paces behind him. His cloak was brought snugly around his shoulders and he had his brother's hat in a tight grip. They walked through bleak halls in silence with only their footsteps to keep them company.

The walls were lined with strange paintings and the carvings within the marbled pillars frightened the poor Nordic. The blonde pinched his arm and winced. No, this wasn't a dream. This was real. He bumped into a ferocious looking statue with a body of a dragon and a face of demon. Gasping in horror, Tino ran to catch up to the beast; choosing this time to walk a little closer.

Berwald could sense that the poor man was shivering in fear and wanted nothing more than to find some way to console him. However to do so would prove far too embarrassing…He risked a look over his shoulder to see how Tino was holding up. His heart broke a little more when he found that the blonde still had a few tears rolling down his rounded cheeks. Sighing he run his claws through his unruly mane, 'What should I do?'

As if sensing his prince's distress, Francis wiggled in his prince's grasp to gently nudged Berwald to get his attention. He whispered, "You should say something to him, master."

"Nh," murmured Berwald with a shake of his head, looking down at his feet. What could he say that would cheer up the little blonde? It was his fault Tino was so upset to begin with. He felt another encouraging nudge after Tino gave another broken whimper. "Uh…I-I hope ya like it h're," he said finally. When Tino didn't say anything, Berwald looked at Francis in panic but the candelabra simply gave him an encouraging smile and motioned for him to continue. Swallowing, Berwald added, "Th' castle 's yer home now, so ya can go anywh're ya want. 'cept th' west wing."

Tino wiped his eyes and stared at the beast in confusion. His home? Well, yeah, he supposed that was true but that didn't change the fact that he was still this creature's prisoner; even if he was allowing him freedom to wander the halls. Eyeing the macabre décor he wrinkled his nose in displeasure. It wasn't like he would want to wander around this place to begin with. Still, it reminded him something out of one of those books he read with the prince. He wondered if there had been a prince like that that lived here once upon a time…maybe he resided in the west wing and that's why the beast didn't want him going near it. Frowning, Tino asked, "What's in the west wing?"

If there was a prince then perhaps he could go save him and together they could leave this dreadful place. Maybe the price could be like the one in his dreams and they could be friends. Tino withdrew to his mind momentarily and didn't see that the beast had stopped walking. He bumped into his furry chest, getting a nose full of his scent. Strangely enough, given the guy's appearance, he didn't smell all that bad. It was nice. Flushing furiously, Tino shook his head and backed away, only to have a rough paw grip his arm and another force his face up to meet the beast's blue eyes. He yelped and tried to jump out of the creature's grip but Berwald held tight as he spoke grimly, "I won't limit yer access t' my castle but I do forbid ya from going t' th' west wing. Please do as I say."

Tino nodded slowly and froze when Berwald reached over his head. Closing his eyes fearfully, he felt a claw graze over his hair before pulling away. He slowly cracked an eye open to see if the beast was going to follow through and kill him but found that he was already walking away, "Holy Martin Luther, that guy's scary." The blond slowly continued to follow; this time carefully watching the beast in front of him as he carelessly dropped a piece of straw to the ground. Confused again, Tino ran a hand to his hair and was surprised to see that he still had a few smaller pieces from when he had thrown himself in the nest of hay.

They finally arrived before a large door and Berwald carefully opened it to let Tino in, "If ya need an'thing, my s'rvants will attend t' ya."

"Dinner," whispered Francis as he tugged on Berwald's fur. Berwald's eyes widened and anther flush stained his snout. He fearfully shook his head no but Francis insisted, "Ask him, master. Ask him to dinner."

Licking his chops nervously, Berwald stood stiffly, "Y-ya will join m' fer dinn'r. That's not a request," he practically growled before slamming the door shut in humiliation.

Tino gasped from the sudden burst and reached out to try the handle but thought better of it and chose to instead run for the bed to hide under the covers. Frustrated and hurt, the Nordic curled in on himself, screaming into the pillows as rain and snow fell from the night sky.

The spider like carriage stopped it's journey just outside the village. If it had eyes they would've been red with exasperation and fatigue. Mathias had proven to be a rather...handful passenger to say the least. The Dane had tried to gnaw at the wooden bars, which the carriage thought was rather disgusting given but he had no mouth so he couldn't voice his displeasure. When that hadn't worked, Mathias had thrown himself at the walls in effort to break them. Again, that had earned nothing but annoyance from the carriage.

To say that he was happy to finally be rid of the annoying blonde was an understatement. No wonder the master hadn't wanted him. The carriage convulsed until it spat out the Dane, spitting his coat after him before making its way back home.

Mathias glared in the carriage's direction, "Thanks for nothing you stupid-" He yelped and ran towards the village when the carriage stopped and charged back towards the blonde. It wasn't actually going to do anything to him but...a little scare never harmed anyone. Mathias looked over his shoulder, sighing in relief to see that the carriage had decided to give up and leave. "Don't worry, little brother. I'm coming back for ya." He ran towards the bakery but found that Lovi and Antonio had already closed for the night, "Where on earth could they be?"

Cheers and laughter from the tavern caught his attention, "That's right! Maybe with those guys, I can get Tino back." Ignoring, the freezing rain, Mathias ran towards the gold light, "Just hold on, Tino. I'll save you."


	5. An Invitation To Dinner

"Who does he think he is?!"

Ludwig and Roderich both rolled their eyes at the outburst. Eduard had spent the better half of the afternoon brooding over the fact that Tino had rejected him. The blonde German wiped down a stein before filling it with beer, "Serves him right," he muttered under his breath. He glanced over to his Italian boyfriend as the man handed out patron's orders. Feli had insisted that he didn't need to beat up Eduard on his behalf but that hadn't kept him from trying to keep the miserable hunter out of the tavern. He bit in a growl as Eduard continued to bicker to anyone who would listen. Which at this point was mostly his brother and a group of men who was listening in to his bitter rant.

"That boy has tangled with the wrong man," grumbled Eduard as he glared at the crackling fire. Memories of his disastrous wedding had been plaguing his mind all day and it certainly didn't help that some of his guests had laughed at him. He curled his lip in a sneer; it also hadn't done his ego any favors that he had to practically bully his way into the tavern. Ludwig had turned him away because of what he'd done to Feliciano but Lars and Gilbert had soothed the German and in the end the hunter had gotten his way. "No one says no to, Eduard Von Bock!"

Raivis thanked Lars for the two pints and carefully made his way back to his brother. He nodded in agreement, "Darn right they don't."

But Eduard was getting ahead of himself. With every reminiscing moment that went by , the angrier he got. Honestly, he couldn't blame Ludwig for acting the way he did. He was a man defending his lover's honor. Hell, he'd do the same for Tino, does do the same for Tino every chance he got but does the little pip squeak feel at all inclined to show any gratitude? No! He glared over his shoulder to see Ludwig and Feli exchange a quick kiss before the Italian went back to work waiting tables. That's what he wanted damn it! For Tino to act with him the same way Feliciano acted with Ludwig. Was that really too much to ask?

What on earth was he doing wrong? Eduard snatched both beers from his brother's hands, gripping the handles tightly, "I was ready to give Tino everything, Rai. And how does he thank me? By dismissing me. Rejecting me. Publically humiliating me!" He shook his head and violently tossed the steins into the fire, "Why, it's more than I can bear…"

"Um…do you want some more beer?"

Eduard shook his head and moved his personal chair around to face the wall, "What for? Nothing helps; I'm disgraced."

"What," cried Raivis in alarm. He knelt down and grabbed his brother's hands, "You? Never! Big brother, ya have to pull yourself together."

When Eduard ripped his hands away and moved the chair again to face the other patrons, Raivis sighed. "Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Eduard, looking so down in the dumps." He motioned to the men sitting around them, "Every guy here'd love to be you, Eduard, even when taking your lumps."

Most of the male patrons raised their beer in agreement with the exception of the German siblings. Matthew hugged his bear cub to his chest and thought to himself that he didn't want to be like Eduard at all. He glanced down at the white bear rug the hunter was sitting over and scratched Kumajirou behind his ear as the cub wailed softly. Nope not at all.

Raivis continued to serenade his brother oblivious to the few who didn't seem to agree with his assumptions. Squeezing under Eduard's arm, the younger blonde nuzzled against his brother's strong chest, "There's no man in town as admired as you; you're everyone's favorite guy. Everyone's awed and inspired by you and it's not very hard to see why." He pulled back before his brother could punch him for invading his personal space.

Emma's trio of friends took this opportunity to get closer to their Adonis. Amelia, being the boldest, ran a hand through the blonde's hair, "No one's slick as you are."

Mei giggled and laid her head on Eduard's lap, "No one's quick as you are."

Wrapping her red hair ribbon around his neck, Felicia cooed, "And no one's neck's as incredibly thick as yours is for there's no man in town half as manly." Kiku looked over to Ludwig and Gilbert, then at Eduard...no man half as manly? He'd place his vote on those two any day.

"Perfect, a pure paragon," sang the girls in unison.

Raivis nudged the men sitting around a small table closest to Eduard, "You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley," accidentally making the later choke on his beer. "And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on—oof!"

The rest of the patrons watched in amusement as the men grabbed Eduard's little brother and swung him around in good humor all while singing the hunter praises, "No one's been like Eduard, a king pin like Eduard."

Losing their grip on him, Raivis went soaring, landing on his brother's lap. The blonde grinned, "No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Eduard."

Ego swelling, Eduard shoved his brother off and flexed, "As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating!"

"My, what a guy, that Eduard!" Raivis jumped up and encouraged the crowed to join him, "Give five 'hurrahs!' Give twelve 'hip-hips!' My brother is the best and the rest is all drips." In his excitement he bumped into Feliciano who had been balancing a tray of beers, knocking them all over Eduard's pants.

It was silent for a moment as they waited for Eduard to realize what happened. The Italian trembled in fear when Eduard balled up his fist, "…ve!"

Ludwig saw what the hunter was about to do to his boyfriend and hopped over the bar growling, "Oh, hell no!" The German pushed Feli out of the way and met Eduard's fist with his own. Unfortunately, Feli tumbled onto a table, breaking it in the process and spilled even more beer all over the patrons and, in the good humor everyone to find themselves in, continued to praise Eduard.

Men jumped into the brawl gladly, pulling Raivis with them, "No one fights like Eduard; douses lights like Eduard!"

Gilbert grabbed his little brother's arms and dragged him out of the dog pile, wincing when Eduard dug his teeth into his snowy flesh, "And in a wrestling match nobody bites like Eduard!" He dragged Ludwig back to the bar while Matthew led Feli.

Lars handed a glass of brandy to his cousin but Ludwig waved it away, choosing to instead hold a nervous Feli. With his Italian in his arms, the odds of him beating Eduard to a pulp was greatly reduced. He hated that he and his family relied on the hunter's popularity for business. Without him, the tavern would've had to been shut down. Hence why Gilbert and Lars insisted on letting Eduard do what he wanted.

The three girls cheered as the brawl came to an end, "For there's no one as burly and brawny-wah!"

They giggled as Eduard walked over and lifted both Mei and Felicia with one hand each, "As you see I've got biceps to spare." He sent a wink to Amelia before dropping the girls onto a bench, "Not a bit of me is scraggly or scrawny. And every last inch of me is covered with hair!" Emma winced and covered her eyes when Eduard popped a few buttons of his shirt to expose his chest which was indeed covered with blond curls.

He closed it back up and went to stroll around the tavern, soaking up all the praise. "No one hits like Eduard," they cheered, "matches wits like Eduard."

"In a spitting match nobody spits like Eduard." Raivis took off his belt and gave it to his brother.

Taking a bite from it, the hunter nodded enthusiastically, "I'm especially good at expectorating! Ptoooie!" Every one watched as the bit of leather ricocheted of various objects until it landed in Feli's wine glass.

"Ten points for Eduard," cheered his fans. Feli, unaware of the addition to his wine, drowned the glass whole. Lars immediately preformed the Heimlich maneuver on the poor Italian before Ludwig, who had gone to wait Feliciano's tables, could see what had happened.

Ignoring the scene behind him, Eduard picked up a jar of pickled eggs and scooped out a few, "When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs every morning to help me get large." The blonde tossed them into the air before catching them all, "And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs so I'm roughly the size of a barge!"

Eduard pulled out his hunting rifle and winked at the patrons as he aimed at a barrel of ale. Roderich groaned when he shot at it, "No one shoots like Eduard." This always happened. Every night the patrons would sing Eduard praises and every night the hunter would shoot at one of their barrels of liquor. Apparently it was good for business only right now, as Roderich watched his regulars fill up their steins, he couldn't understand why.

He and his cousin exchanged glances, Lars speaking up sarcastically, "Makes those beauts like Eduard."

They watched Eduard walk away back to his chair looking mighty pleased with himself; his brother trailing happily after him, "Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Eduard."

Eduard ran a hand over the armrest of his chair, "I use antlers in all of my decorating!"

"Say it again," sang the patrons, now drunk on their affection for the hunter and Ale, "Whose a men among men? And let's say it once more! Whose our hero next door? Whose super successful? Don't ya know? Can't ya guess?Ask his fans and his five hangers-on. There's just one guy in town who's got all of it down..."

"And his name's E-D-U...uh," Raivis tapped his finger to his temple in thought, "Ed..uar...-E-D-U-W...E-D-U-A...aw!"

"EDUARD~"

Ego inflamed and a warm sensation in everyone's bellies, the tavern carried on again with conversation and laughter. Ludwig came back to the bar with an empty tray and stole a look at Feli, noting that his Italian was silently crying, "What's wrong?" He set the tray aside and gently cupped his cheek and not liking how the side of his face was beginning to bruise. "How the hell did that happen? I- you didn't fall when I pushed you away." He turned to Emma who explained that Feli got hit in the face by the hunter's elbow repeatedly when Eduard fired his gun at the barrel.

"Ve…please don't be mad, Luddy," sniffed Feli as he wiped his eyes, "it was my fault. I shouldn't have been sitting here. I'm sorry!"

"You don't have to be sorry, Liebling. That arschloch shouldn't be doing more than half the stuff he does, much less shooting a damn gun in a public place like this."

Lovino glared at the German, "Che pale! If you really felt that way then you wouldn't even let him in!"

"Well it's not like I even want him here to begin with!"

"We can deal with it," said Gilbert as he poured out some beer for them all, "Just try to stay out of his way and don't pick fights with the guy." He said that last bit with a pointed glare in his young brother's direction. He brought and arm around Matthew and raised his stein, "To Feli, who has had a rather rough week this week."

Feliciano looped his arm around Ludwig's bicep, "And to Luddy, who's big warm muscles, which are bigger than Eduards', will always be there to protect me~"

The small group of friends rose their drinks in toast when a frantic Dane burst into the tavern, "Help! Someone help me!"

Emma's eyes widened at his state, "Mathias?"

The blonde looked around wildly, running up hysterically to random people, "Please, please, I need your help!" He grabbed Antonio's shirt and shook him, "He's got him…h-he's got him locked in the dungeon."

"Who," asked Lovi as he tried to pry Mathias' hands off his husband's shirt.

"Tino! We must go, not a minute to lose." He finally let go and ran around until he could find someone to help him.

Eduard, who'd been watching the lanky Nordic in amusement, chuckled, "Woah, slow down there, Mathias. Who's got Tino locked in a dungeon?"

"A beast! A horrible, monstrous beast," cried Mathias as he waved his arms in the air to emphasize his point. He was met with laughter from the tavern. The Nordic lowered his arms slowly to hug himself. Why were they laughing? This wasn't funny! His baby brother was alone with a monster and-

Stanley, one of the patrons who was seated close to Eduard, rose from his chair and crept up on Mathias, startling the poor man, "Was it a big beast?"

"Huge!"

Another shoved Mathias into his friend, "With a big ugly snout?"

The Dane ignored the aggression and nodded quickly, "Hideously ugly!"

Another patron bared his teeth as he and Stanley lifted Mathias up, "And sharp cruel fangs?"

"Yes, yes!" The blonde turned to the hunter hopefully, "Will you help me?"

Emma clutched her brother's arm and tugged at his shirt, "Lars, do something!"

She watched worriedly as the men shoved Mathias towards Eduard; the hunter smirked and nodded, "Sure, we'll help you out." He jerked his head towards the door, eyes not leaving Mathias who was now thanking him repeatedly with a lopsided grin. "Idiot."

Mathias was tossed unceremoniously out on his rump, Stanley and his friends laughing as they shut the door on him, "Crazy ol' Mathias. He always good for a laugh." They walked over to the bar and winked at Emma who emptied a bucket of dirty dish water on them before pulling on her cloak. She and Matthew went outside to help the poor Nordic while Lars and Gilbert kept the trio back with a glare.

Indifferent to Stanley and his cronies, Eduard turned his chair back towards the fire in thought, "Crazy ol' Mathias, hmm?" The fur lined chair creaked under his weight as he leaned forward to rest his chin on his fist. His little brother took a seat on the floor in front of him, pulling up his legs to his chest and rolling back in forth curiously. Eduard chewed on his thumb nail before smirking, "Crazy old Mathias…hm," he said with a chuckle. "Raivis, I'm afraid I've been thinking."

The young blonde widened his eyes, "A dangerous past time…"

"I know." For once, he gently pulled his little brother closer to him and whispered, "That crazy nut is Tino's big brother and his sanity is only so-so. Now, the wheels in my head have been turning since I looked at that worrisome man." Eduard grinned and pulled the boy onto his lap, "See, I promised myself I'd get married to Tino and right now I'm evolving a plan."

Curious patrons leaned in to try and pick up what the hunter was whispering to the little blond but they could only pick up little things here and there. "And would he really go for that," asked Raivis.

"Guess."

Raivis' eyes glazed over at the genius plan his brother was relayed, "Now, I get it!"

Smiling genuinely at his little brother, Eduard stood up, "Great! Let's go then." He pulled him in for a victory dance, "No one plots like Eduard; takes cheap shots like Eduard."

"Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Eduard." As they danced passed the bar, Ludwig pulled Feliciano close and away from the hunter.

The two brothers grabbed their coats and waved goodbye for the night, "Soon my marriage we'll be celebrating…"

"My what a guy," cooed the still sober patrons as he left, "Eduard!"

~.~

It was misty by the time the Beilschmidts closed down their tavern for the night. Lovi and Antonio went home, Ludwig had insisted that Feli go home with him and his siblings much to the older Italian's annoyance. As usual Gilbert was talking animatedly to his brothers while Lars smoked his pipe. Roderich rose an eyebrow but Lars shrugged it off, "Em doesn't like it when I smoke in front of her."

"You should quit," sniffed Roderich, "It isn't good for you."

"Neither is eating sweets everyday but that doesn't stop you. Besides, after tonight, I think I earned it. I didn't lose my cool."

"Shut up," growled Ludwig, startling Feli. Lowering his voice he continued, "You would've lost it if all that stuff happened to Emma."

"Hm." They came to a stop outside their shared home, surprised to see that the girls and Matthew were still up. Lars put out his pipe and placed on the highest shelf before going to kiss his sister's head, "What are you still…is that Mathias?"

"You guys brought him here," asked Gilbert as he went to greet his own boyfriend. "Is he ok?"

Emma placed a cool towel on the Dane's forehead, "I'm not sure. He's been going in and out of consciousness and he keeps muttering about Tino and beasts and dungeons." She lowered her brow in worry, "Will he get better, Roderich?"

The dark haired German, who also doubled as the village medic when he wasn't helping his family at the tavern, washed his hands before checking Mathias. Roderich placed a hand on the blonde's forehead and nodded, "He should be fine in a few days. We should call Tino so he can take him home."

"He's not there," said Matthew. "I went to go get him but there isn't anyone at their house. Their horse is gone too and the animals weren't even put into the barn. I think…I think maybe Mathias was telling us the truth."

Gilbert snorted, "Birdie, I like the guy, you know I do, but come on a beast? There's no such thing."

"Ve, what if he meant a bear or some big animal?" Everyone turned to Feli. The Italian played with his shirt sleeve, "Maybe they were out and a bear attacked and took Tino to its cave."

"Well if that's the case then it would be unawesome of us not to help him."

"What? You want us to go hunt down a bear now," asked Roderich as he tucked the covers around the still sniffling Nordic. "No offense but you're not much of a hunter."

"Neither are you!"

"Boys," admonished Elizabeta with her skillet in hand, "We'll see what we can do for the poor dear tomorrow morning. Let's all go get some sleep till then." Her frown disappeared when Ludwig scooped up Feli and went straight for their room. Giggling, she led her husband to their own shared room while Gilbert and Matthew retreated for the night themselves.

Lars stayed behind with his sister, "Aren't you coming too, sis?"

"No, you go ahead." Emma ran a dainty hand through Mathias' hair," I want to make sure he doesn't get worse during the night."

"Roderich said he'll be fine."

"I want to stay, big brother."

"Ok, then I'll stay with you."

Emma shook her head, "You were at the tavern all day; you should get some rest. We'll be fine." Lars looked at the man sleeping on their couch then at her. She frowned, "Go! It's not like he's going to do anything to me."

"It's not him I'm worried about." The tall blonde ducked when a pillow flew near his head. Chuckling he went to his bedroom, leaving his sister blushing and muttering things under her breath. When he was out of sight, the young woman pulled out a blanket for herself and curled up next to Mathias, "Don't worry, Mat, you're not alone. We'll help you."

~.~

Tino hugged a pillow to his chest to keep his belly from aching. The sobs had stopped a few hours ago but a whimper here and there still managed to escape the small Nordic. He curled in on himself and tried to go to his mind palace but every time he closed his eyes all he saw was his brother being dragged away. To make matters worse, his tummy was beginning to growl.

'I've always wanted to go on an adventure...but not like this,' he thought to himself.

A series of gentle knocks pulled him out of his self-pity. He waited for a moment, thinking for a moment that perhaps it was the beast who had returned for him. Usually pretending to be asleep worked on his brothers when he didn't want to be disturbed but the knocks became more insistent. His nerves calmed when a feminine voice called out who she was, "It's Miss Kirkland, dear."

The voice sounded kind so Tino scampered out from under the covers and rushed to open the door. To his surprise there was nobody outside, "I figured I'd lose my mind but not this quickly."

"You haven't lost anything, dearie. I was simply bringing you a spot of tea."

Tino glanced down and yelped in surprise, "But you're a…you're a-oof!" He bumped into the wardrobe behind him.

Grinning, the wardrobe opened its eyes, "Oops, like careful."

"This is impossible," cried Tino in awe as the dishes and wardrobe inched closer to him. He took a seat on his bed, suddenly having felt his knees weaken.

"Like, I know it is," said Feliks, "but here we are." He let himself fall back on the bed as well, sending the poor Nordic flying. "Sorry."

Tino rubbed his bottom but didn't get up from the floor. He was still too busy trying to wrap his head around the fact that inanimate objects were no longer…well inanimate. Despite the stressful night, Tino found himself smiling. What a delightful surprise!

"I told you he was pretty, didn't I, big sis," chirped Peter as he looked at the man his father was going to court.

The sugar holder added a spoonful of sugar before stirring it in to the tea and milk Alice and the creamer were pouring, "Alright, Peter, that'll do. Careful now, dear, don't spill!"

Taking slow hops, Peter shyly went up to Tino. The blonde picked him, "Thank you~"

Just as he was about to take a sip, the cup giggled, "Want to see me do a trick?" Taking a deep breath, Peter made little bubbles in the tea making both himself and Tino giggle.

"Peter," snapped Alice, "Behave yourself in front of our guest."

"It's ok," assured Tino, giggling again, "I don't mind."

Alice wobbled closer, "It was a very brave thing you did, sir."

"Like, we all think so," added Feliks.

Tino sighed and held Peter carefully to his chest, "But…I lost my brother, my dreams, everything." Surprisingly enough, the tears didn't come anymore; all he felt now was just sadness.

"It's ok, mama," chirped Peter as he nuzzled his face into Tino's shirt, "everything will be alright in the end, you'll see."

"I hope s—wait," the Nordic rose his hand so he could look at Peter, "what did you call me?"

The teapot laughed nervously, "Oh, listen to us. Jabbering on when there's a supper to put on the table." Alice rushed out with the creamer and sugar holder, "Come along, Peter!"

Peter gave one last look to Tino before hopping after his sister, "Bye~"

"Right," murmured Feliks as he got back to his feet, "What shall we dress you in for dinner? Oh! Like, let's see what I have in my drawers!" He opened himself and shooed away the moths in embarrassment, "Like, sorry. It's been years since I've seen what I've got in here. But, like, this was my room so all these threads are tots fab. Aha~ here, this one will do the trick. The blue will make your skin pop!"

Gently pushing the dress back into the wardrob, Tino shook his head, "Th-that's very kind of you but…I think I'll draw the line in wearing girl clothes. Shoes I can do but…I don't think I'm pretty enough to wear something like that."

"What, are ya kidding me? You're like totally gorgeous. If I could pull it off, I'm sure you can too."

Tino blushed, "Truth is, I'm not going to dinner."

Feliks gasped in horror, the smile slipped from his face, "B-but you, like, have to!" If not to help break the spell, then for his own safety. Berwald seemed more flaccid these days but he was still prone to animalistic temper tantrums, much to his embarassment. Who knew when or what could trigger a burst of anger. Before he could voice these concerns another series of knocks came from the door before it opened.

In walked a small clock eagerly, "Sorry for intruding but dinner is served." Arthur smiled kindly and offered his arm.

~.~

Downstairs in dining hall, Berwald was pacing on all fours in front of the crackling fire. The nerves were killing him which in turn were starting to agitate the animal inside. He growled softly to himself, "Nh, I have t' stay calm." He found that tugging on his fur did the trick so he tried that. But there was only so much he could do at this point, "What's takin' so long? I told him t' come down. Why isn't he here yet?"

Francis and Alice exchanged glances before the latter spoke up gently, "Sire, the boy's lost his brother and his freedom all in one day. You have to try and be patient."

"Master," called the candelabra, "have you thought that perhaps this boy could be the one to break the spell?"

"O' course, I have. I'm not a fool." Berwald stopped pacing and stared up at Francis, "Though, I suppose ya thought th' same about th' other idiot didn't ya?"

"I'll admit that I assumed that perhaps you would like him. Forgive me, your majesty." When the prince waved it away, Francis continued, "But anyway, all you have to do with this one is fall in love with him then he'll fall in love with you and poof! The spell will be broken. Do things like me and we'll be human again by midnight."

Alfred scoffed, "Please, Francy pants, even you should know that these things take time. Just look at me and Artie. It took me months to finally get him to admit he loves me."

"Oui, mon ami, but we don't have months to spare, we only have weeks. The rose has already begun to wilt."

The prince groaned miserably and sat down on his haunches. He spoke with paws over his face, "Its no use. He's so adorable and I'm…well look at m'!" The cursed fairy's words had been ringing in his ears all night, taunting him. Not to mention he was getting incredibly nervous about having dinner with Tino let alone actually having a conversation with the man.

"Oh, your majesty, you must help him see past all that," said Alice with a smile. She hopped onto a pillow before jumping onto the table closest to her prince, "I know you're still shy underneath all that but we're here to help you."

Francis nodded and joined the tea pot, "Oui, master."

"First thing's first, you need to make yourself more presentable. Straighten up!" Berwald quickly did as he was told, sitting up like a dog, his ears high and alert. "Try to act like you use to, sire. You were quite the gentleman."

"When he comes in give him a dashing debonair smile," added Francis. "Come, come, show me the smile~" Berwald blushed and shook his head. "Come now, your majesty, it can't be that bad."

The prince slowly pulled back his lips in a broad smile only to curl in on himself when he heard Alfred intake a breath. The coat rack's wooden arms were shaking as he placed a platter onto the table and at Francis' glare he shook his head, "It's nothing, master. I- I was just…enchanted by such a d-dazzling smile…hehe." Berwald smiled again.

Alice sighed, "But don't frighten the poor man."

"Impress him with your rapier wit."

"But be gentle." Berwald frowned at that. How could he be possibly gently rapier?

"Shower him with compliments."

"But be sincere." The prince brought his paws to his horns, feeling a familiar anger grow in his belly. It was too much!

"And above all," started Francis, seeing that Berwald was tugging on his horns, "you must control your temper!"

The door handle wiggled, getting everyone's attention and Berwald momentarily felt his temper simmer down, replaced by shyness. When only Arthur entered nervously, Berwald's smile and ears fell. He cocked his head to the side in annoyance, "Well? Wh're is he?"

Arthur saw the way Berwald flickered his tail in quick circles, the same way he always did before a temper tantrum. Chuckling nervously, the clock fiddled with his brass hands, "W-who? Oh, you mean Tino…yes, right, uh-um, Tino…Well, actually he's in the process of getting-er no." Arthur stammered in effort to prolong the inevitable but based on the way Berwald's claws were now digging into the carpet, perhaps it would be best to just spit it out. Still, the clock attempted to relay the message as gently as possible, "M-master, circumstances being what they are, Tino said…T-Tino said that…he's not, um… c-coming."

The servants held their breath as Berwald said nothing. Oh. Perhaps they were wrong to assume—

"WHAT?!"

—never mind.

Tugging on his fur did little to soothe him. Berwald jumped over the table and ran out the door, his paw pads making him slip on the marble floor before he managed to get traction again. Growling, he hopped onto the stair railings before jumping again onto the second floor. Arthur, having seen how dilated Berwald's pupils had gotten, scurried after him, "Oh dear, you're grace! You're eminence, let's not be hasty!"

Berwald skidded to a stop in front of Tino's bedroom and banged on the door, "I thought I told ya t' join m' fer dinn'r!" The other's arrived soon after and stared at their master in exasperation.

"I'm not hungry," shouted Tino from the other side.

The fur along Berwald's spine stood up in frustration, "Y-ya come out of there or…or I'll break down th' door!"

Francis tugged on Berwald's tattered cloak, "Master, I could be wrong but uh, heh, I don't think that's the best way to win the man's affections."

"Please," begged Arthur, "attempt to be a gentleman."

Berwald spoke through gritted teeth, "But he's bein' so difficult." He said that last bit louder so that Tino could hear. Honestly!

"Gently, master," murmured Alice, "Gently."

The prince looked at the door and let himself calm down a fourth of a notch, "Will ya come down t' dinn'r?"

"No," came the defiant reply. Berwald's ears shot up and he shot his friend's a look with a finger pointed towards the door.

"Ah-ah!" Arthur wiggled a finger to Berwald to warn him against losing his temper again, "Suave. Genteel."

Gripping his cloak tightly in his fists, Berwald took a prince like stance, though his tail flicked in annoyance with both Tino and himself. 'Come on, we can d' this. Let m' out and I can d' it,' screamed his inner prince but his temper was far too flared for him to pay any attention. "It would be my pleasure…if ya were t' join m' fer dinner," he said tightly, his fur standing on end again from the strain.

"And we say 'please'," chirped Alfred, hugging Arthur to himself.

"…Please."

Tino immediately yelled back, "No, thank you!"

"Ya can't stay in there forev'r!"

"Oh, yes I can!"

"Fine! Then go ahead an' starve!" Directing his glare at his servants, Berwald growled out, "If he doesn't eat with m', then he doesn't eat at all!" He ran down the hall and slammed the door that connected the east wing to the west so hard that tiny bits of the ceiling fell onto Francis' head.

Alice exhaled through her spout, "Oh dear, that didn't go well at all did it."

Her brother shrugged, "He'll change his mind about feeding Tino. He's not a heartless man." Arthur tapped on Alfred's nub, "Let's go down stairs and clean everything up. You, Frog, stay here and watch that door. Inform me at once if there is the slightest change."

"You can count on me, mon capitane," proclaimed Francis with a salute as he march up and down the width of Tino's door.

~.~

Berwald tore open his bedroom door and slammed it shut, not caring that he was throwing a tantrum. His room was already destroyed, what was a bit more? Grabbing a side table he threw it against his bed post, "I ask nicely but h' refuses. W-w-what does h' want m' t' do? Beg?!" Unballing his paws, he ignored the small bleeding holes in his palms from where he dug his claws and picked up the mirror, "Show m' th' boy!"

The mirror glowed a pale blue white before the reflection showed Tino sitting crossed legged on the bed, his arms crossed across his chest. Feliks was standing next to him, "Like, the master isn't so bad once you get to know him. He's actually a real sweetie, if you can believe it. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"I don't want to get to know him," snapped Tino, "I don't want anything to do with him."

Sighing, Berwald put the mirror back down. "I'm just fooling myself…h' will never see m' as an'thing but a monst'r." He crawled into his bed sadly and ashamed of his anger, "It's hopeless…"

From under its protective dome, the enchanted rose wept a petal for it's prince.


	6. Be Our Guest

_Berwald held his palm outstretched patiently to receive the small leather ball. He sighed when it fell with a plop onto his skin, drool making it sticky, "Really?"_

" _Shut up," growled the beast as it sat down on its haunches in front of him, his gaze on the ball. "Yer the one who wanted ta play."_

" _Well, what else am I supp'se ta do?" The prince wiped his soiled hand and the ball on his trousers before tossing it again, "Yer th' one who was mean to him. We could've been having a nice supper with our wife."_

_The beast chased after the ball, "Oh, right, 'cause he totally loves ya."_

"… _He could if ya wouldn't fight me for control. Let me try." Berwald looked down at his boots sheepishly, "I…I can show him I'm not the brute you've been making me out to be."_

_Dropping the ball and sitting on it to keep Berwald from throwing it again, the beast glared at the prince, "Ya think I enjoy being stuck here with you? Being conned into chasing a damn ball like some domesticated pup—"_

" _You said you were a lion last time."_

" _I'm th' embodiment of all beasts, you pest!"_

"… _prince."_

" _Whatever." The beast slammed his heavy paw down in anger, "And to be forced to learn your stupid language—"_

" _Nev'r taught ya th' bad words…"_

"— _to be trapped in your mind, my soul can no longer take it, Prince." Yellow eyes saddened as they met stoic blue, "I am starting to forget what part of me is mine and which is yours. If it weren't for that cursed fairy we wouldn't be in this situation!"_

" _We'll be alrigh'. Just gotta stay positive is all. You'll see; he's going to fall in love with us." Berwald reached out to pet the beast but his hand froze half way at the creature's glare. Dropping it he sighed, "Yer gonna have to get used to him touching us."_

" _I instill terror in th' hearts of men," growled the beast, his fur standing high in anger, "I have laid to waste warriors of old! I am-" He broke off and immediately started to purr when Berwald scratched behind his ears. Dropping onto his belly, he rolled around so that the prince's hand could rub it._

" _Hn."_

" _Shut up."_

A heavy paw thumped happily against the bed as Berwald continued to dream.

~.~

Once cool clean sheets were now stained with too much heat and spots of where Tino's sweat was accumulating from too many layers of clothing. He'd fallen asleep some time ago after the fresh wave of tears that had been summoned at his disagreement with the beast had ceased to fall. Feliks had looked at him sadly before he too returned to his slumber. The wardrobe had tried his best to speak kindly on his master's behalf but their guest had refused to listen to anything he had to say.

And now as he slept, Tino could feel his belly rumble. Groaning miserably, the Nordic kicked his blanket off was too much to ignore. He rolled onto his back; his eyes staring blankly towards the ceiling, "So it hadn't been a nightmare."

His stomach grumbled louder which prompted to rub soothing circles into it in effort to sooth the hunger pains. A part of him was regretting not going down to supper but he didn't want to spend more time with the thing that imprisoned him. Then again, perhaps he was being too hasty. He _had_ been considerate enough to let him explore the castle with that _one_ exception. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Tino slowly got out of bed, wincing as the blood rushed from his head. There was a pounding at his temple but he disregarded it.

Tino walked to a dresser and stared at himself in the mirror with a wince, "Gosh, I look terrible…" His eyes were red and puffy. Dried tear marks marred ruddy cheeks and his hair was matted down by sweat from his stubborn refusal to come out from under the blankets. Tino sighed and took washcloth before dipping it into a bowl of water to freshen up. When he felt clean enough, Tino quietly stepped out of his room and wandered into the hall in hopes to find the kitchen.

He walked past Francis who was busy trying to seduce a feather duster. Michelle giggled and tried to escape the candelabra's hold on her, "Not now, Francis."

"Why not, mon cher," cooed Francis as he tried to trail kisses up her neck. "No one's here."

"I've been burned by you befo—ow!" Michelle glared up at the womanizing candelabra as he looked after Tino in horror. "What was that for?"

"Forgive me, but I must go alert Arthur of this." Francis waddled after Tino but not before shouting over his shoulder, "We'll continue another time, oui?" He didn't wait for her answer as he chased Tino.

~.~

In the kitchen, Alice was helping Peter into the china cabinet, the latter whining in protest. "But why can't I just sleep in papa's room like I normally do?"

"Because the master needs some alone time to get over his temper tantrum," said the teapot tiredly. She nuzzled her little brother who was already yawning and fighting to keep his eyes open. "You need to sleep now, dear."

"But I'm not sleepy," he insisted before submitting completely to his exhaustion.

Smiling, the pot closed the glass door, "Yes you are." At the sound of pots and pans angrily being shoved about, she let out a breath through her spout in annoyance, "What are you doing, Natalya?"

The Russian cook turned knife turned around to glare at her boss. She'd been trying to push pots off of the stove, "Big brother worked and slaved all day long, and for what?" Using the tip of herself to nudge it off of Ivan, "A culinary master piece gone to waste!"

"I-it's ok, Natalya," whimpered Ivan as she turned her attention to him, "I enjoy cooking so I don't mind."

Alice hopped away from the cabinet and gave a huff, "Stop your grossing, Nat, It's been a long night for all of us. And Ivan, dear, don't take it to heart. I'm sure Master Tino would've loved your meal, yes he would've. He's just been through so much tonight, you know?"

"Well if you ask me," said Arthur as he wiped away the mess on the floor, "he was just being stubborn. After all, the master _did_ say please. And you know how hard it was to get him to do anything social before. Can you imagine how hard it must be on his part to do what is being asked of him?"

"I remember but if the master doesn't learn to step out of his shell or control that temper, he'll never break the-"

Arthur saw Tino approaching over his sister's shoulder and cut through her thought, " _Splendid_ to see you out and about, Sire." He handed his rag over to Alfred before wiping his hands on his wooden body and extending one, "My name is Arthur and I'm head of the house hold." Just as he was about to shake the blonde's hand, Francis shoved him away and took Tino's hand into his, "And this is the Fro—I mean—Francis."

"Enchante, mon cher," purred the candelabra with a charming grin before placing kisses on Tino's hand making those around him roll their eyes.

Tino giggled and let the candle do as he pleased, "It's nice ta meet ya. I'm Tino!"

"Right then." Arthur tried to push Francis out of the way, "If there is—stop that—anything we—please—can do to— _Frog_ ," hissed the clock angrily before shoving his colleague out of the way completely before smiling up to Tino, "to make your stay more comfortabl—ow!"

Alfred shuffled inside to find his small boyfriend nursing his red hot hand from where Francis burned him. Offering kind smile to their guest, he picked Arthur up and placed him on the counter so that he could cool it in the pitcher of water. Tino watched the interaction between the two objects in awe and found the way the clock was blushing endearing. He was about to say as much but his stomach gave a demanding growl making him chuckle sheepishly, "I, uh, I _am_ a little hungry."

"You are?!" Alice's eyes shined behind her glasses as she turned to address Ivan, "Stoke the fire! Break out the silverware and wake the china." She didn't even have to wait too long for her orders to be obeyed.

The cabinet opened up its doors to let Peter hop out, "Mama Tino! You came out of the room after all," he cried excitedly as he hopped onto his shoulder. "Would you like some tea? How about crumpets? Ooh, I know! Mr. Ivan makes very delicious quiche that would go good with-"

"W-wait a minute now," stuttered Arthur, "remember what the master said."

"I think Peter has a marvelous idea," said Alice simply, "After all, I'm not about to let the poor man go hungry."

"Alright, fine," Arthur pointed to Ivan, "Give him a glass of water and a crust of bread -"

Alfred gasped, "Dude! He's not our prisoner, he's our guest. We need to totally make him feel welcomed here." Lowering his voice he added, "Especially with how things went down tonight, ya know?"

"Fine. But try to keep it down. If the master finds out about this it will be our necks."

Francis tugged on Tino's pant leg to lead him towards the dining room, "Of course, mon ami, of course." He let Alfred lead him the rest of the way so that he could add with a mischievous smirk, "But what's dinner without a little music?"

Arthur, who was following after them, froze, "Music?!" The candelabra let the swiveling door go and smack his friend in the face, sending him soaring through the air and into a casserole dish.

The dining room took Tino's breath away. He ran his fingers along the massive mahogany table's surface, feeling the intricate detail carved into it. In front of it was a large fireplace whose mouth only had ambers of what was left. Tino momentarily felt guilty about not agreeing to have dinner with the beast but he shoved that feeling away. Why _should_ he feel bad?

From above, the chandelier lit its candles and focused the light on Francis. The candelabra smiled broadly at the Nordic, "Mon cher monsieur, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents—"

Tino gave a startled yelp when he felt a chair push against him making him fall backwards. "Ooh," marveled the blonde as he patted the arm rests, "you're very comfy Mr. Chair." He felt the chair rumble back in gratitude before settling down.

Francis chuckled and motioned for the eager trays and dishes to come out, "—your dinner." He watched as the carts rolled out from the kitchen and close enough to the dining table so that their passengers could hop off and dance over to Tino, "Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test."

Just as Tino was about to dig in, his mouth watering so much that he could hardly keep it in, he was gently held back by Alfred, "Tie your napkin 'round your neck, dude, and we'll provide the rest."

With napkin in place, Tino reached out to taste the first course. Francis pointed to each and sang what it was, "Soup du jour, and hot hors d'oeuvres," glancing up with a coy smile, he said, "Why, we only live to serve. Try the grey stuff—"

"It's delicious," piped Peter as he snuck past his sister and hopped his way onto Tino's shoulder.

Francis nodded in agreement, "Don't believe us? Ask the dishes!" The candle pointed behind him where the dishes started to perform for their guest, "They can sing, they can dance; after all, sir, this is France! And a dinner here is never second best. Go on, unfold your menu take a glance and then you'll be our guest, Oui, our guest. Be our guest!"

The other dishes sashayed one after another, happy that they were finally able to be of some use, "Beef ragout, cheese soufflé, pie and pudding en flambé." Tino, who was eagerly reaching out with a spoon to get a taste of everything, yelped again when Arthur suddenly popped out of the desert casserole with a scowl.

Francis promptly set the creamy paste aflame with a grin, "We'll prepare and serve with flair; a culinary cabaret!" He shooed the dish away so that more could come. Taking Tino's hand gingerly in his he patted the top side, "You're alone and you're scared but the banquet's all prepared. No one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining." Backing away he relit his candle hands before tossing them into the air to juggle, "We tell jokes! I do tricks with my fellow candlesticks."

German beer steins crowded in front of Tino, "Und it's all in perfect taste that you can bet~" The Nordic grinned and plucked one so that he could take a sip of the golden beverage. He smacked his lips after a hearty gulp and let the stein go. It was good but not as good as the Beilschmidt brothers' brew. Speaking of which, he bet these would be a hit at these enchanted steins would be a hit at the tavern.

He watched as the steins preformed acrobatic like movements, sending the rest of the beer flowing from one cup to another while singing, "Come on and lift your glass; you've won your own free pass to be out guest-"

"-If you're stressed," chirped the candelabra cheerfully, "it's fine dining we suggest. Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!"

Arthur, who had managed to get himself out of the casserole dish, was wiping the last of the creamy filling off of his wooden body. He was going to give that damn candelabra a piece of his mind! With a final, wipe, he pulled the towel away from his face only to suddenly wish he hadn't. Somehow a simple dinner had turned into a festivity. How Berwald hadn't heard it was beyond him but we was going to make sure that it stayed that way.

Flicking his towel away, he shoved his way past dancing silverware and shooed away the beer steins with furious _shh's._ The chandelier noticed this and focused its lighting through a blue gem so that it would cast a gloomy glow over Arthur. The clock was wrestling with one of the steins when he realized that everything had gone quiet. Arthur let the poor thing go and gave Tino a sheepish smile as he tried to step out of the light.

He didn't make it too far before Francis was dragging him back under the light, "Life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving." Twirling him around in his arms, the candelabra dipped Arthur, "He's not whole without a soul to wait upon—"

"Get off me, you perverted frog," hissed Arthur angrily as he blew the fire out on Francis' hands.

The angry demand went ignored by Francis who simply continued to sing mournfully, "Ah, those good old days when we were useful...Suddenly those good old days are gone." Salt shakers above them released their salt in a mock snow fall to add to the somber tale. Arthur was unamused.

"Aww," cooed Tino sadly. He leaned forward with his chin on his fists. A gentle nudge at his hair from Peter calmed him down just a bit as they both listened to what Francis had to say.

Arthur fidgeted in Francis' hands, not at all happy that the candelabra was messing with his clock parts. Francis fiddled with the clock's metal arms, making them squeak at the hinges, "For years we've been rusting. Needing so much more than dusting, needing exercise, a chance to use our skills," he said tearfully as he tried to keep his friend still but Arthur had waddled away. Gripping dramatically to the clock's leg, he held tightly despite Arthur's angry attempts to dislodge himself, "Most days we just lay around the castle."

Behind Arthur was a plate of green gelatin. Smirking, Francis let go, sending the clock tumbling backwards and onto the plate of sweet jello.

Tino covered his mouth to keep from laughing at Arthur's angry grunts as the clock flailed in effort to get himself unstuck, his stubby little legs thrashing in the air. Francis wasn't as tactful and grinned shamelessly at his friend's misfortune, "Flabby, fat and lazy You walked in and," jumping onto a spoon, the candelabra managed to free Arthur from his green prison, "oops-a-daisy!"

The kitchen was alive with mouthwatering smells and busy movement. Ivan worked on cooking just about every delicious dish he was able to while hiss sisters helped by chopping up the ingredients. Dishes and other dinnerware obediently followed Alice's direction as she made sure that everything was perfect for Tino. She skipped her way past the washing station towards the kettle, "It's a guest! It's a guest! Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!" Pausing only so that the wine bottles could roll by, she carried on and inspected the yellow napkins, "Wine's been poured and thank the Lord I've had the napkins freshly pressed."

Nodding in approval she let them hop onto a trolley that would take her and the entire tea set to Tino, "With dessert, he'll want tea and my dear that's fine with me. While the cups do their soft-shoein' I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing," jumping onto the stove amongst Ivan's pots, Alice admired herself in the tin's reflection, "I'll get warm, piping hot—heaven's sakes! Is that a spot?"

The tea pot jumped on to the trolley, "Clean it up! We want the company impressed. We've got a lot to do!" When that was done she and the others rolled up to Tino where Peter hopped from the Nordic's shoulder to let his sister and her subordinates fill him up with tea, milk and sugar. Glancing up from her snout, Alice asked, "Is it one lump or two? For you, our guest! He's our guest! Be our guest!"

~.~

Furry ears twitched. Melodious voices, though faint, had made their way into Berwald's room rousing him from his slumber. The prince slowly opened his eyes and blinked blearily, "Music?" He got up and arched his back in a stretch as he gave a small yawn. Shaking his head, Berwald made his way to the stair case.

"Be our guest! Be our guest! Our command is your request," sang his servants jovially as they danced for Tino. "It's been years since we've had anybody here and we're obsessed."

Berwald saw Tino carefully drink his tea out of Peter before digging into a cake Alfred handed him, "With your meal, with your ease. Yes, indeed, we aim to please."

"While the candlelight's still glowing let us help you; we'll keep going."

Francis wiggled his eyebrows playfully as he kicked the base of his body up and down, "Course by course, one by one, 'Til you shout, "Enough! I'm done!""

Arthur's emerald eyes widened at the sight of Berwald but to his surprise the prince didn't look mad. As a matter of a fact he looked everything but; his blue eyes shining with unshed joyful tears at the sight of his servants' tending to Tino so eagerly. They met eyes and Berwald smiled toothlessly in a silent show of gratitude before returning back to his room. Arthur looked at how brightly the dinnerware seemed to gleam, the smiles the cheerful singing and shrugged. At least they weren't brooding.

Raising his stubby arms to Alfred bashfully, he let his boyfriend pick him up to dance, "Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest. Tonight you'll prop your feet up but for now, let's eat up. Be our guest!"

"Be our guest," echoed Francis and Alice, happy that Arthur had joined in on the fun, "Be our guest! Please, be our guest!"

Tino clapped excitedly, "Bravo! That was amazing!" He carefully plucked Peter from his shoulder and sat him on the trolley so that he could go get washed with the other dishes before turning to Arthur and Francis with a grin.

"Yes, that was rather good wasn't it?" The clock ushered the wine bottles back to the kitchen before giving a small yawn himself, "Oh, dear. Is that really the time? We should get you to bed, young master."

"Bed? Oh no, I couldn't possibly go to bed now," chirped the Nordic as he bounced in his chair, "It's my first time in an enchanted castle, ya know? I've only ever read about it in my story books."

Arthur and Francis watched as a fork scurried past them so that it too could be bathed before the clock laughed nervously, "E-enchanted? Who said anything about the castle being enchanted?" Narrowing his eyes at the candelabra, he jabbed an accusing finger into the brass, "It was _you_ , wasn't it?!"

"I kind of figured it out on my own." Tino's smile grew when the clock released Francis with a frown. "I'd like to take a look around if it's alright with you."

"Ooh! Would you like a tour," asked Francis excitedly.

Before Tino could answer, Arthur smacked the candelabra and hissed quietly, "What are you doing? We can't have him exploring certain places, if you know what I mean."

Disappointment settled in Tino's chest before he perked up with an idea. He leaned forward and blinked his cutely, "Why don't you come with me? I bet you know everything there is to know about the castle."

"Uh—I...um." Arthur blushed, "Well, actually, yes, I do." He jumped off the table and led Tino down the hall with Francis. Pointing to various paintings and tapestries, Arthur gave a detailed history of the objects without saying too much that would reveal Berwald as the prince. He wasn't sure if his master wanted for Tino to know that yet for fear that it would interfere with the authenticity of his feelings.

Along the tour, Tino had found some of the castle's pets and had even taken to give them names. Fore example, the cat turned pillow, he dubbed Prince-Extraordinary-Dragonslaying-Pompom and a ferret turned hat was Guardian-Sniffelkins-Chowder. At these, Francis and Arthur had exchanged glances but hadn't voiced their opinions. Instead, Arthur led them down another hall filled with knights clenching to their weapons. The clock pointed above them, "If I can direct your attention to the ceiling, you can see that the pseudo-façade was stripped away to reveal the minimalist Rococo design. Note the unusual inverted vaulted ceilings. This is yet another example of the late neo-classic Baroque period. And as I always say; if it's not Baroque don't fix it. Aha!"

Francis rolled his eyes but kept his comments to himself. Tino seemed to genuinely be enjoying Arthur's rather boring commentary. Hanatamago ran around Tino, barking playfully at the man as they walked past the suits of armor. Squeaks from where the armors were twisting their heads to gawk at Tino pulled Arthur from his giggles. The clock glared at them, "As you were, gentlemen."

Nodding when they returned to their positions, Arthur returned his attention to Tino, "Now as for the flying buttresses above—ah, Tino? Oh!" With a quick nudge to Francis' side, he and the candelabra ran to block Tino from going any further.

"What's up there," asked Tino as he eyed the dark walls.

"Where? There? Oh, Nothing. Absolutely nothing, just dust and other rubbish. We really shouldn't be going up there. The west wing is off limits to just about all of us."

"Ahh, so _that's_ the west wing," murmured Tino as he eyed the dark walls, "What's he hiding up there anyway? The prince?"

"Th-the prince?" Francis stared at Tino before shaking his head, "Why would the master be hiding a prince up there?"

"Well, this is a castle right? Surely there must've been a prince here once upon a time."

"There's no prince here, monsieur. Come why don't we go look at something else." Francis tried to nudge Tino away from the stairs but the blonde wouldn't give in. "We could go look at the gardens? They're quite lovely."

"Yes," stammered Arthur as he too tugged on Tino's pant leg, "or we could even look at some more historical things. We have some tapestries dating all the way back too—"

Tino took another step up, ignoring his tour guides, "Maybe some other time."

"What about the library? We have tons of books in there."

This piqued the Nordic's interest, "Ya have a library?"

Happy that they had Tino's interest, both Arthur and Francis nodded eagerly, "Of course! What kind of castle doesn't have a library?"

"Well—"

Arthur chuckled and looped his arm through Francis, "Never mind that, Frog. Let us take him to the Library so he can pick out some books to take back to his room. You're going to love it, young master. We have books on just about every subject there is to have books about."

"Oui, monsieur," cried Francis, "There's mountains books!"

" _Cascades_ of books!" Hanatamago and Tino watched as the two fixtures waddled down the hall, oblivious that Tino wasn't following after them. The foot stool chased after them, barking in hopes that they'd turn around and stop Tino from venturing any further but they didn't pay attention.

Tino waited until Francis and Arthur's voices were faint before slowly going up the stairs. The west wing was just as, if not more, bleak as the rest of the castle. Statues of dragons and other creatures with horrid faces lined the hall way. Mirrors laid in shatter on the floor and the carpet had tears in it from what he assumed were the beast's claws. Further along was a trail of dried blood which made him halt in his tracts.

"O-oh sweet Martin Luther," he gasped, "what if that's the prince's blood? What if he's hurt? I should save him!"

Following the trail, Tino ended at the end of the hall where twin blue massive doors that had demon like head, split in two, for doorknobs. He reached out to open them only to hesitate in doing so…the beast had asked him not to come here. Then again he had acted like a brute when he refused to go to dinner. And he _had_ imprisoned in this god forsaken castle so who was he to do as he was told. Pushing the doors open, Tino entered the room and was overwhelmed by the stench.

Covering is mouth and nose, Tino took in the sight of the bedroom. Clearly a prince had lived here once upon a time. He only prayed that the putrid smell of something decaying wasn't him. He walked over a broken table and looked around. There was a mirror shattered just like the ones in the hallway. Next to it was a ripped painting of a man with stoic blue eyes. He lifted the fabric and blushed with a small gasp. The man in the painting was very handsome…if not a bit scary. No, not scary. Lonely.

To his surprise, the painting next to it was also ruined save for the part where a boy no older than six was perched on the man's shoulder with a broad smile. Tino traced the curvature of the boy's cheek with the pad of his index finger and wondered out loud to himself, "Did the prince have a son?"

Berwald was tense from his hiding spot behind the curtain near the balcony. Why was Tino here? Wasn't he clear when he told him not to venture to the west wing?! The prince tugged on his fur to keep his anger at bay, 'Nh…must calm down.'

He mentally glared at the beast when he heard it's humorless chuckles, 'What?'

'Nothin,' said the beast after his fit of chuckles, 'Ya must really like him, huh?'

The prince felt himself flush under his fur as he watched Tino look around his messy room, '…he's cute.' He forced himself to stay hidden when Tino tripped on an overturned chair.

'Cute? Half of yer staff is cute and yet you would break them if they even stepped a toe in h're.'

Berwald narrowed his eyes, 'Ya know why I can't be cruel ta Tino….there's somethin' about 'im.'

'Oh, yeah? You mean like his bright innocent eyes or his curiosity?' The beast purred ravenously, 'Or perhaps it's the fact that he smells delectable…like a mate.' Berwald ducked his head in embarrassment much to the beast's amusement. 'Well that cute curiosity is about to touch the enchanted flower. It's been rather fragile these days hasn't it? I bet a single touch would make all its petals fall and we'll all be stuck like this forever.'

Sharply turning his head towards the small table where he kept the enchanted rose, Berwald felt panic when Tino lifted the heavy glass dome off of it. He felt that panic meld with anger when the blonde raised his fingers to gently touch the petals but he didn't give him a chance to.

"Why did ya come h're," growled Berwald lowly; the hot air he exhaled made little puffs of white smoke around him making him look even scarier.

Tino cried out in fear when Berwald ripped the glass dome from his hands and covered the glowing rose again. His violet eyes widened as the beast reared his head to glare at him, "I-uh…"

Haunching over the rose protectively, Berwald's voice lowered, "I told ya never to come h're!"

"I-I didn't mean any harm," whimpered Tino. He rose his hands up in defense and backed away from the angered beast, "I was just curious.

"Curious? Ya were—," Berwald slammed his fist angrily through the wooden dresser behind the Nordic making the small man jump.

"I'm sorry!"

Blue eyes narrowed dangerously, the pupils thinned into slits, "Do ya realize what ya could've d'ne?!" Clenching his paws, he stepped back, "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out." Berwald grabbed a table and smashed it against the wall, "Get out!"

"No, wait, stop!" Tino tried to calm the creature down but Berwald was too far gone. The blonde dodged a stool and ran out, the echoes of growls chasing him down the hall.

Berwald hurt his paw on split table leg causing him to pull himself out of his temper tantrum. He surveyed the damage to his room and felt a sudden dread in his chest, "What h've ya done, beast?!"

' _Me_ ,' growled the beast within him, ' _I_ didn' do shit. That was all you, prince.'

And it was true. As ashamed as he was to admit it, it was true. Berwald couldn't put the blame on his curse this time. When he saw what Tino had almost done, his first thought had been of his servants and son. If the rose had been compromised then so would've been their chance of becoming human again. Berwald rubbed his eyes and dragged his paw down his snout.

~.~

"Where are you going," asked Francis as Tino ran past them.

The Nordic grabbed his cloak off of Alfred, "Promise or no promise. I can't stay here another minute!"

"No, wait," cried Arthur, "There's a blizzard out! Please….don't go."

"I'm sorry, truly I am but I'd rather take my chances out there than put up with _him_." The coat rack stood with Arthur and Francis as they watched him climb onto Sardine-Panic and maneuver him towards the gates. Kyle and Christian exchanged wide-eyed glances at the sudden change of events and held the gate open for the horse.

Tino gripped the reigns tightly in his fists, the frigid cold wind biting at his face but he encouraged his horse to keep running. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and that dreadful beast. For a moment he wondered if Berwald was going to come after him. Hungry growls traveled alongside him through the trees, making the Clydesdale neigh in fear.

The Nordic nudged Panic's side, "Come on, boy, faster!" Tino wrapped his arms around his horse's neck when Panic suddenly stood on his hind legs, "Wh-what's—oh holy Martin Luther!"

A whole pack of wolves, the same ones that were left hungry after Mathias managed to escape them, ambushed them from the front. Turning on his heal, Panic ran the other way and towards the frozen lake. Sharp tree branches scratched at Tino's burning face, some even cutting deep enough to draw blood but the Nordic was far too frighten to even notice. The wolves nipped at his horse's ankles in hopes to startle him into bucking his rider off.

Tino steered Panic leftwards and caught a wolf between a thick tree dazing it. The wolves snarled in response and tried to force the Clydesdale off his course. Panic jumped over a fallen tree and onto the frozen water. Unfortunately the ice hadn't thickened and both of them fell through.

The water felt like millions of needles all stabbing at their bodies. Panic neighed as he pulled himself and Tino out and continued to run. Behind them a couple of the wolves abandoned their pursuit but the rest were still hot on their heels. The other half of the pack circled around and came at them from the front, this time effectively startling Sardine-Panic into bucking his master off.

Struggling, Tino stood on wobbly legs before breaking off a fallen branch and swinging it protectively in front on himself and his horse, "Stay back! Back!" He was seriously regretting his hasty decision of leaving the safety of the castle. Had it been a calmer moment, Tino would have laughed at the absurdity of considering the beast's castle safe. He let out a whimper as he fell on his back when one of the wolves got ahold of his branch and snapped it in two. "Dear, god. This is it…this is how I die, isn't it?!" Bracing an arm in front of his face, he closed his eyes and waited for the agony of being eaten alive to commence. Only it didn't.

He opened his eyes when he felt a sudden brush of warm fur against his cheek and widened them when he realized who it was. The Beast hovered over him protectively with his teeth bared in an angry snarl. One of the wolves bit into Tino's cloak in effort to drag him away from Berwald but the prince picked him up and roared angrily before tossing it aside.

Tino could see the wolf's blood on the Beast's claws but could bring himself to feel disgusted by it. He watched in a strange mix of awe and terror as the creature who had imprisoned him was now fighting for him. The wolves jumped onto his savior's back while others sunk their jaws into his legs and arms. It was hardly felt; Berwald was too focused on trying to scare the wolves away without having to seriously harm them. It wasn't their fault that they were desperate for food now that winter had arrived.

Still, their tenacity to take him down and get to his Tino was starting to greatly aggravate his beastly nature. Berwald found himself growing angrier and far less forgiving until the sight of a foolish wolf trying to get to Tino while the other's busied themselves in keeping him distracted pushed him to the edge. Releasing a roar that even frightened him, Berwald ripped the wolves off of him and tossed them unceremoniously away. He vaguely registered that he was growing exhausted and the adrenaline was starting to wear off.

When he pried the last wolf off of his arm and threw it away, the wolves decided to abandon their prey and head back to the woods. Berwald stood tall until their howls were no longer heard. Turning to glance at Tino sadly, the prince let himself fall to the snow, far too tired to attempt to make it back home.

The beast hissed in his mind, 'What are ya doin'?! He's going to make a run for it!'

"Nh…'s ok. Wouldn't blame 'im fer leavin' me," mumbled Berwald in response, his eyes getting heavier with sleep. "At least he's safe..."

Tino clutched at Sardine-Panic's leg as he watched the beast roll into a ball in the red splattered snow. He knew that the blood wasn't all the wolves…oh! This was his chance! Getting up tried to get back onto his horse, "Come on, Panic! While he's passed….passed out." Glancing behind him, the Nordic suddenly felt ashamed though he wasn't completely sure why.

Here he had two choices: one get on his horse and ride back home to his brother where he would be safe and continue living his life in peace. Granted his life wasn't all that great to begin with what with the limited friends he had and..., "and the horrible feeling of being alone and constantly having to deal with people saying mean things about me and Mathias," mumbled Tino. On the other, he could help the beast back to the castle.

Sighing, Tino walked over to Berwald and picked him up effortlessly before dropping him onto Sardine-Panic's back. He gave his horse a giggle, "Looks like we hunted him, doesn't it boy—now don't ya go and look at me like that." Running his hand over the beast's horns, Tino added, "He _did_ save our lives. It's only fair that we return the favor. Plus they had some yummy cakes."

~.~

The journey back to the castle was relatively quick. As it turned out they hadn't made it too far but it only seemed that way because of the storm. Berwald had woken up by the time they arrived and had silently dismounted. He was quiet save the few puppy like whines he gave as he took a seat in his favored chair in front of the fireplace while Tino had Alice and the others gather some supplies for him.

When everything was ready, Tino sat by Berwald's feet while the beast ran his tongue over his wounds. "Here," murmured Tino softly as he tried to take Berwald's arm, "Hey now, d-don't do that." Berwald stubbornly refused to listen and continued to lick himself. Huffing, Tino tried again, "I said don't do that. Let me hel—just hold still!"

Arthur and his small family, and Francis, watched as Tino tried to get the wet heated rag onto their master's wounds. Berwald's act of immaturity would've been funny and endearing if it were not for the underlining fear that he could possibly snap. And to be quite honest, they were far from in the mood to wipe blood out of the carpet. When Tino finally managed to press the cloth to Berwald's bloodied arm, they hid behind another chair, Alfred picking them up and holding them close as the prince let out an angered roar.

"That hurt," snarled Berwald as he ripped his arm away and cradled it to his chest. He was being irrational he knew but this whole thing could've been avoided had Tino just listened.

Tino himself was done with this whole situation and it hadn't even been a full day yet. He flicked Berwald on the nose and yelled back, "If ya would just hold still it wouldn't hurt as much!"

"Yeah well, if ya hadn't run away this wouldn't h've happen'd!"

"If ya hadn't frightened me I wouldn't have ran away!"

Berwald could hear the beast chortle in his mind but he blocked the sound as he tried to come up with a reasonable comeback. Oh right! Smirking the best he could with a snout, Berwald spat out, "Well _you_ shouldn't have gone th' west wing or into my room without permission."

Tino's glare fell before he picked it back up and threw it at his savior with a vengeance, "Well _you_ should learn to control your temper. Now shut up and give me your arm so I can clean it."

Arthur and the others watched the interchange with jaws dropped. Berwald hadn't gone into his usual beasty temper tantrum. Heck he even did as Tino asked, albeit stubbornly and with his head on his fist. Strangely enough that wasn't what had the servants in shock. It had been the fact that their prince's eyes were as bright and clear as the day before they had been cursed. It had also been the fact that Berwald had not only spoken without a trace of shyness but was even displaying his annoyance with Tino.

The Nordic dipped the bloodied rag into a bowl and grabbed a fresh one to bandage the arm. Peeking through his lashes at his patient, he softened his gaze, "By the way, Beast, I'd...I'd like to thank you for saving my life."

"Berwald."

"Huh?"

"My name 's Berwald. Not beast; please don't call m' that."

"O-oh!" Blushing in embarrassment, Tino focused on bandaging Berwald's arm, "I'm sorry. I—"

"'s ok." Berwald carefully placed a paw under Tino's chin to gently raise it, "Please…forgive me fer my temper. I didn't mean it." Blushing under his fur he added, "Ya don't have ta eat with me if ya don't want t'."

Tino blinked rapidly. Well this was a…a drastic change of tune. Blushing himself, the Nordic slowly backed out of Berwald's hand. Blue eyes filled with disappointment but Tino quickly chased it away with a small smile, "Maybe we could start over? I'm really not all that scared of things if I'm honest with ya."

"Yer not?"

"Mm-mm. Just when I'm not mentally prepared." Smile turned into a sheepish grin as Tino rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm like a delicate flower. If ya want to hold me you're going to have to be gentle. AH! Not that you want to hold me or anything I was just saying it as an example. Not that I would mind if ya hold me, actually you're pretty big and fluffy so you might be comfortable to sleep on. I mean! Oh Martin Luther, I didn't mean it like that…"

As Tino continued to ramble on and on about this and that and continue to fluster himself, Berwald settled back in his chair in hopes to hide the fact that his tail was wagging. He considered himself blessed that Tino had decided to give him a chance, even if it was at friendship first. That was ok. He was sure that if he continued to repress the animal that he'd unwillingly become, that Tino might see the man he was. For now he let Tino talk; the only thought skipping through his mind was about how refreshingly adorable the small blonde was. And for once the beast stayed silent.


	7. Something There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tino starts to see Berwald in a different light...

It was late in the morning when Mathias finally woke up. His fever had broken and color was returning to his cheeks. He blinked his weary blue eyes before glancing around his surroundings, "Where on earth…"

"Good morning, big brother," greeted Emil from the side of his bed, "How are you feeling?" He handed him a cup of tea to which his brother gratefully drowned in a single gulp.

Wincing as the hot liquid stung his sore throat, Mathias placed the cup aside and looked around the room again, "I'm fine. Where am I?" He took in the purple walls and frilly white curtains framed the small window overlooking the town and the little wooden figurines on a shelf next to a tiny pile of books. His eyes widened when he finally noticed the painting of Emma and her brother on the wall above the stove heater.

"I'm at Emma and Lar's place," he squeaked as he tried to get out of bed, "Why am I here? Better yet why are _you_ here?"

Emile huffed as he crossed his arms, "Well it's good to see ya too, Mathias."

"Ugh, ya know I didn't mean it like that," said Mathias as he rubbed his throbbing head.

"Your friends came to Gerberoy to get me and Lilly when you got worse. Said that you were sick and that maybe it would be good if family took you in. We were going to take you back to your house but your girlfriend said that we shouldn't move you. In all honesty I think she just wanted to keep you here."

"M-my girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend…"

"Friend, girlfriend, whatever. Point is that we didn't want to leave you alone." Violet eyes met weary blue, "Now, what is this I hear about Tino missing?"

Memories of what happened a few days ago with the beast and the enchanted castle and his brother. Oh! Mathias kicked off the sheets from his body and ran around the room to gather his things, "Tino is missing!"

"I _know_ , I just said that." Emil stood up to grab his older brother by his shoulders to keep him from dashing about, "What happened? I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

"A beast has our brother, Emi. I was on my way to the fair with my latest invention when Sardine Panic got us off course—"

"Wait, Panic did? He never does that. Why did—"

Mathias waved it off, "That's not important! What is though is the fact that a beast locked me up in an enchanted castle with the cutest footstool and a little teacup that is just plain awesome. Also there was this coat rack who is dating a clock, don't ask me how that works but how protective Alfred is of Arthur is just the sweetest thing, ya know? Anyway, they were being real nice to me but the beast didn't like that so he dragged me away and I ended up in the dungeon. When I woke up Tino was there and the beast said that he'd let me go if Tino agreed to stay with him forever. Forever, Emil! Do you know what that means?"

"Um…forever?"

"Yeah! And a carriage spider thing dropped me off at the edge of the village..." Bringing a finger to his lower lip in thought, Mathias squinted into the distance, "But I don't really remember much after getting thrown out of the tavern."

Emil stared at the taller blonde with worry, "Where is Tino, Mathias?"

"I just told you that a beast has him locked in a tower somewhere. Lord knows what horrible things he's doing to my poor baby brother…"

* * *

"Wee!" Tino laughed as he clutched Berwald's mane tighter in his fists. He bounced on his back as the beast ran around in the snow on all fours. Sometime after their talk, Tino had allowed himself to open up to possibility of friendship with Berwald. The fear he felt towards him slowly loosened its hold on his heart. Berwald wasn't so bad after all; especially now that he had taken to dress himself a bit more presentable and actually bathe.

Peter giggled in glee from his spot on Tino's shoulder, "Go faster, papa! Faster!"

The prince did as he was told and dug his claws into the white frozen powder for more traction as his paws pushed off. This had to be the most humiliating yet liberating thing he had ever done. And yet…he couldn't bring himself to care. His son was happy and Tino was happy, which in turn made _him_ happy. He could hear the beast grumble in his head. ' _What_ ,' he asked.

' _Yer makin' a fool out of yerself,_ ' huffed the beast grumpily, ' _which is actually th' same as makin' me look like a fool.'_

' _Nh…yer havin' fun and ya know it_.'

' _No, I am not_!'

' _Our tail is waggin._ '

' _Shut up_!'

"Hn," said Berwald, a small triumphant smirk gracing his snout. He saw his servants waiting for them by the door and he ran in their direction. Arthur and the rest braced themselves but to their surprise, Berwald simply jumped over them, earning a squeal of delight from his riders. The doors opened on their own accord and the prince landed gracefully inside.

Tino hopped off his back and nearly fell from his weak legs but a chair promptly scurried over to catch him. "Thank you, Mr. Chair. A perfect catch as always." The chair hummed and took a step back just as Berwald shook the snow off of himself, sending it flying everywhere including, Francis.

"Ha! Excellent landing, Sire," complemented Arthur as he stepped over his fallen colleague. "Lunch is ready if Master Tino would like to eat."

"Ooh, yes!" Tino got back up and gently plucked Peter from his shoulder, "Can we eat outside? It's such a lovely day."

"Wherever you wish, sir," chirped Alice from her spot on the cart.

"What do you think, Peter?"

Peter smiled sweetly, "Anywhere you want is fine with me, mama."

"Ah…well, outside it is then." Tino blushed and tried not to laugh awkwardly. He still wasn't sure why the teacup insisted on calling him 'mama' but he didn't really have the heart to tell him to stop. That didn't mean that it wasn't embarrassing, especially since he also called Berwald his papa. So if he was his papa and he was his mama what did that mean they were to each other?

Face burning with embarrassment, Tino turned around and stuttered, "A-aren't ya going to eat with us?"

"Nh. I want t' go change my bandages."

"Oh. I can do that. Here let me help ya."

"It's fine. I can d' it my—"

"Now, now, there will be none of that," said the small blonde sternly. He placed Peter on the cart and took their first aid basket from Alfred, "What did I tell you about being stubborn?"

Flushing under his fur, Berwald looked to the ground, "…not t' be."

"That's right. Now give me your arm." Tino took Berwald by the paw and sat him down at the outdoor dining table. He hummed to himself as he tended to the arm, hands careful as to not harm him though he suspected that it didn't hurt Berwald at all seeing as he was just running on it. Still, he tried his best to be gentle. The blue eyed beast had kept his word and had been treating him with the up most respect and kindness.

"There," he said happily, giving Berwald's arm a pat, "All done; now a kiss for a speedy recovery and—oh!" Tino's blush came back with a vengeance when he realized what he was about to do, "I'm sorry! I…and well, I—"

Berwald's own face was aflame but he tried his best to keep from freaking out. Tino was going to kiss him! Well, his arm but still…would that have counted? He heard the beast howl with laughter and he snarled at it to keep quiet. Tugging on his fur, Berwald stood up, "I-it's ok. Why don' we eat, yeah?"

"Um… yeah, sure." Tino scurried over to the other side of the table and tried not to make eye contact with Bernard as the servants began to flutter around them, serving them their food and drink. Berwald waved his food away, still not all that comfortable with eating in front of his guest just yet. He still had some animal like habits that he had yet to break. When Tino was done with his lunch, he excused himself to go walk his Clydesdale for a bit.

The horse was still very wary about being on the castle's grounds but he was slowly, and he means _very_ slowly, getting used to it. The barn was pretty nice he guessed. There were other horses in there so he wasn't lonely. At least he thought they were horses. In actuality they were little wooden toy horses but they neighed and everything. Told him a thing or two about how things were like but he still couldn't wrap his mind around it so he just ate his oats and kept his head down. Tino seemed happy enough and that dreadful creature wasn't…well, dreadful.

Francis and Arthur climbed onto the stone rail Berwald was leaning over and the former said, "You were close, master. So close."

"Nh," whimpered their prince as he hid his face behind his paws, "he's so adorable."

"Oui, he is." The candelabra cast a look over the rail and saw that Tino playing fetch with Hana, "And how are you feeling about him?"

Berwald removed his paws to reveal shy smile, "He's cute…had almost given up on fallin' fer someone lookin'….well lookin' th' way I do."

"Why," asked Arthur. The clock bounced on the balls of wooden feet with hands behind his back, "You were always so adamant that you would fall in love no matter what you or your partner would look like."

"That's true. I guess…I guess I'm just happy with that he's giv'n me another chance." Looking over a Tino he smiled again at the sight of the small Nordic petting Hanatamago. "I want t' do somethin' for 'im. But what?" He looked at his two friends expectantly.

Arthur rubbed his face in thought before Francis spoke up, "There are the usual things. Sweets perhaps? He seems to really like the kind Natasha makes. Flowers? Chocolates? Promises you don't intend to keep."

Alfred overheard what Francis said and smacked him with a rag, "Well it's no wonder that Michelle or Tasha won't give you the time of day anymore. That's no way to treat your lover." Reaching out his knob of a hand to hold Arthur's hand, "You've got to be thoughtful, master. Give 'em something they'll _really_ like."

"Ah! I know," exclaimed Francis suddenly. He tugged his prince back inside, "I know just what he'll like but first we're going to have to clean the place up a bit." The prince gave one last glance at Tino before following after his servants.

* * *

After Emil had managed to calm his brother down enough, he thanked Ludwig and his family for taking care of Mathias before tugging him back to the cottage. To his surprise he found the whole Beilschmidt clan, including a peculiar man named Feliciano, on their front step the next day. Elizabeta had taken one look at Lilly and her protruded stomach before squealing in glee and hugging the girl to her chest.

"Why, aren't you the cutest," cooed the Hungarian, "How far along are you?

"Oh, well, I'm almost seven months in," said Lilly softly. She rubbed her belly affectionately and nodded towards Elizabeta's, "And yourself?"

"I'm only four but my husband would probably tell you that it's been an eternity." The two women shared a giggle while Gilbert and his siblings pulled out a map to show Mathias.

"Where exactly did you lose, Tino," asked Ludwig as he looked at all the possible places a bear could make a home at.

Mathias pulled out his own map and showed were he deviated, "Here would be the best place to look I think."

"Then there is where we'll look."

"Should we go get Eduard? We could—"

"Nien!" Everyone turned to look at Ludwig in stunned silence. When he felt Feli's warm hand in his, the young German simmered down and said quietly, "Nein. We don't need his help. The last thing I need is for him to find new ways to harm my Feli..."

Emma sighed dreamily, "That's so cute, cousin!"

"Ludwig is right, dear," said Elizabeta as she started to remove her skirts to reveal pants and boots underneath, "We'll be enough."

"You're not coming with us, Lizzy." Gilbert eyed her stomach and shook his head firmly, completely missing how Roderich was making motions behind his wife for him to stop talking. "Not with you in the condition you're in."

"And what's wrong with my condition? It'll do the baby some good for me to get some exercise. Not to mention knowing you idiots you're going to need my guidance." Narrowing her eyes he poked her brother in law in the chest, "Especially _you_."

Gilbert ignored the amused chortles around him and gasped, "Me? What did I—"

"You know what you did! Roderich is scared of spiders!"

"Uh, yeah…That's why it's funny to chase him around with one."

Pulling out her pan, Elizabeta pointed it to Gilbert who backed up into Matthew, "I'm going and that's that." She looked over the map and drew invisible lines with her finger, "Ok, so this is where Mathias last saw his brother. We'll spread out in a line formation to assure that we don't go around in circles. I'd say we distance ourselves in pairs with fifty meters of distance between the pairs. Lilly, dear, you're going to stay here and hold down the fort. My friend Kiku will be stopping by to keep you company."

Lilly fiddled with her handkerchief worriedly, "Please be safe out there."

Her husband kissed her on the cheek, "We'll be fine. Knowing Tino he's probably just gotten himself lost somewhere. Big brother's resourceful and if he is lost, I'm sure the faeries are watching over him." Emil motioned for his puffin to fly over to his forearm, "Mr. Puffin, you stay here and watch over her, ok? If something happens come find us at once." The bird chirped in response and settled on Lilly's shoulder as they watched the search group pick up their things and head out.

* * *

Tino was sitting in the dining room writing a letter to his brother. He was hoping that perhaps Berwald would allow him to send it to him so that he wouldn't worry or make a fool out of himself trying to convince people what had happened. Dipping the quill pen into the tiny well of blue ink, Tino taped the feather lightly against his lip, "What more should I say? Oh! I've having fun here, strangely enough. Berwald is such a kind ma—er cre—uh…he's kind. He lets me explore the castle…though he didn't really like it when I went into his room. He yelled at me but it's ok 'cause I yelled back. We're on good terms now though. The food here is really good. They're always feeding me so I'm never hungry. Also, the servants are nice. One of them has even taken to calling me 'Mama'. That's a little weird what with me being a man and all." He laughed to himself as he dipped the quill again, "But I suppose I should feel flattered that Peter thinks that highly of me. I miss you brother and I hope all is well. Maybe I could convince Berwald to let you come visit me…but we'll see. Your brother, Tino."

The Nordic sat the pen aside and gently blew on the letter to dry the ink. He heard a quiet cough behind him and he jumped. Berwald was standing on two legs instead of his usual four and he seemed a bit nervous. Tino turned around in his chair and smiled, "Yes, Berwald?"

"I…I—uh...hn," stuttered Berwald as he twisted his tail around his legs. He stared at the small blonde until he heard the Beast hiss at him to get on with it. "I'd like t' show ya somethin'."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's a surpr'se." The prince reached out his paw to Tino who took it shyly. Together they walked hand in paw towards the east wing where Berwald and his servants had spent nearly the entire day cleaning. They stopped outside a pair of heavy wooden doors. "Tino, I need ya t' close yer eyes." The blonde rose an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side making Berwald smile internally at how cute his little guest was, "It's a surpr'se remember?"

Tino nodded and did as he was told, trusting that Berwald wouldn't let him bump into anything. He felt a warm paw at the small of his back as he was gently nudged forward. His shoes made little clicks on the floor and he realized that he must've been inside the room. When he no longer felt the pressure on his back he grinned, "Can I open them now?"

"Nh. Not yet." Berwald rushed to open the heavy drapes.

"Now," asked Tino with grin as he felt light caress his face. Though he couldn't see what Berwald was doing, he could tell he was excited about whatever it was he was going to show him. Tino couldn't help but think it was kind of cute. He blushed at the thought.

"Almost…ok, now."

Tino's eyes widened in as he took in the sight; the blue and gold walls were covered with shelves upon shelves with books. There was a couch sitting in front of a large fireplace that was perfect to curl up with a few books. He tried his best to contain his excitement, "Holy Martin Luther! I've never seen so many books in all my life!"

Berwald gave a pleased hum, "So ya like it?"

"Like it? I love it!"

"Then it's yers."

"Wah? Really?" Tino couldn't help himself; he pounced on Berwald and wrapped his arms around his neck in gratitude, "Thank you so much!" He nuzzled his face into the soft mane and smiled, "Thank you."

The servants watched was Berwald slowly brought his paws around Tino to return the hug. Alice giggled, "Oh, would you look at that?!"

"Oui," said Francis happily, "Is that amazing?"

Alfred squeezed Arthur around his belly in glee, "It so totally was, dude! See, I told ya it would work."

"Don't squeeze me to hard, git," hissed the clock as he flailed his legs.

"Woops, sorry, babe."

Peter pursed his lips, "I don't understand. What's going on? I didn't see anything special." He frowned as the older ones waddled off to do their chores. The teacup turned to his sister and pouted, "Why can't I go in with Papa and mama?"

The teapot smiled, "Come along, Pete, we have chores to be done in the kitchen." She skipped her way after her brother and friends while Peter hopped behind her asking question after question in hopes that she would answer.

Tino finally released his hold on Berwald and bashfully held his arms behind his back, "Um…may I ask for a favor?"

"Anythin'," said Berwald immediately.

"I wrote a letter to my brother and I was wondering…if I could send it. I just want him to know that I'm ok and to not worry." He lowered his eyes, "But I'll understand if—"

"Nh! If ya want t' ya can. I'll get th' carriage to take it. Tonight, though, so that people don't see." He blushed when Tino hugged him again, his heart beating erratically behind his furry chest.

' _Yer turnin' into a big 'ol softie_ ,' murmured the Beast. ' _Maybe ya will do after all._ ' Berwald ignored the Beast and allowed himself to indulge in the warmth of Tino's arms around him.

* * *

The search party returned in a gloom. They hadn't found Tino but they had managed to find Mathias' invention. The men had hauled it back to the cottage where Mathias offered to make them dinner. He wisely decided to keep his mouth shut about the beast. It was clear that the others didn't believe him…and from the looks of it neither did Emil. He waited for them to leave before turning to his brother, "I'm going to go looking again."

"What," asked the young Nordic, "But we just got here."

"We can't leave Tino alone. Don't you care about your big brother?"

"Of course I do, Mat, but we…are you sure that's what happened? You were really sick when the others came to get me."

Mathias frowned, "What are ya saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe you dreamed the whole thing. What if Tino just went out on his own?"

"He wouldn't do that, Emil. He'd never leave without telling me and I'm not making it up. I know what I saw!"

Lilly whimpered sadly but before she could ask them to stop arguing she heard a knock at the door. Waddling over she opened it but no one was there save for an envelope addressed to Mathias. She picked it up and handed it over to her brother in law. Tearing it open Mathias read and re-read it before furrowing his brown, "What the hell?"

Emil read over his shoulder, "That's Tino's handwriting. See? He's fine. Sounds like someone found him and is giving him hospitality."

"The hell he is! That beast probably forced him to write this so that I would stop looking for him! Joke's on him. I'm big brother and I'll be damned if I'm going to let him keep our Tino in that horrible dungeon!" Emil cried out in frustration and stomped up to Tino's room and slammed the door.

"Mathias, maybe you should take some time away from here," said Lilly gently, "You could come back home with us and clear your head." She rubbed his shoulders in comfort, "We're all worried about Tino but you need to think about how this is affecting everyone."

"Lilly…"

"Please, big brother? Emil won't say it but I know he's frightened. He's already lost a brother. Please don't make him lose you too."

The lanky blonde sighed, his belly twisting up with worry, anger and frustration but he nodded, "Alright but I'm not going anywhere. What if Tino escapes and comes home to find me gone?"

"Then we'll stay here with you."

* * *

**~A few days later~**

It was late in the evening when Tino picked out a few books to read. He found a few children's books to read to Peter whose insistence in calling him 'mama' was beginning to warm his heart to the point where he too was beginning to see him as a son. By the time he finished the last book, the teacup was snoring softly in his lap. Berwald walked into the library to pick him up carefully.

"So…papa, huh?" Tino stroked the spine of the children's book before placing it back into a basket he used pile the ones he was reading to Peter. "Does…does that mean there was a mama?"

Berwald shook his head, "He's not really my son. Arthur and Alice came t' work fer…they came here when h' was only a baby. I fell in love and adopted 'im. He's been m' son ever since." He turned to leave when he felt a tug on his cloak.

"Um, I was wondering. Could you…would you eat breakfast with me tomorrow?"

"…Ya want t' eat with m'?"

"I—yes, I would like that very much actually."

"Hn." Nodded and retreated for the night, his belly warm. The next morning Arthur woke him up and led him to the dining room where Tino was already waiting for him. Alice and the other dishes were serving them their porridge. At the sight of food, Berwald immediately dove face first into the bowl, lapping up the sweet oats with his dog like tongue. Tino gasped in horror, pulling him away from his brief relapse of animal mind.

Berwald stopped eating and flushed red upon noticing that Tino was staring at him. He was about to wipe his face with his sleeve when Alice gave him a stern look. Peter nudged a small silver spoon, "Here use this, papa." Grinning when the prince picked it up, the cup added, "I know you can do it."

It was rather embarrassing to fail at what once had been literally second nature. The whole ordeal was making him feel like he was a toddler just learning how to use utensils all over again. Thought he supposed that that was the consequence of having to share his mind with the father of all beasts. Furrowing his brow in concentration, Berwald scooped up a spoonful of porridge and tried to guide it to his mouth but failed miserably. Well, at least he got a giggle from his son.

Tino saw the dejected look on Berwald's face. Perhaps this was why he never ate with him. Biting his lip in thought, the Nordic suddenly had an idea. Setting his spoon aside he lifted his bowl and laughed, "Who said we need spoons to eat? This is more fun, yeah?" He made a little motion as if to say cheers and tilted it to his lips. The prince actually smiled before mimicking Tino's actions.

As soon as they were done, Tino insisted that they go out to the gardens again. Berwald took a bag a bird feed in hopes to attract the colorful birds that tended to stay in the aviary during the winter. However before they stepped a toe outside, Feliks waddled downstairs in a huff, "Like, where the heck do you two you're going dressed like that?" The wardrobe opened his drawers and pulled out two heavy cloaks for them to wear, "I don't want you guys to, like, get sick or anything."

"Oh, thank you, Feliks," chirped Tino as he tied the red velvet cloak around himself. He pulled the hood over his head for added measure, "Ha! I kinda look like Santa don't I, Berwald?"

Berwald secured his own dark blue cloak before nodding, "Ya look cute."

"C-cute?" The Nordic blushed at the compliment but before he could question Berwald's words, he was tugged outside. Tino watched as Berwald scattered the bird seeds in front of him. As soon as the first grain fell, a small flock of house sparrows of various colors landed to gobble it up. They looked up at the beast as if to figure out if he was a threat. To his surprise they flew right into Berwald's paws to eat from them instead.

Tino stole a glance at Berwald's face. He still couldn't figure out what kind of animal he was exactly for his face looked like the offspring of a wolf and a lion. He certainly had the long snout like a wolf but he also had ears and a main like a lion. Not to mention, his eyes…oh, his eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of blue he'd ever seen. What was more intriguing was that they held so much humanity in them especially when he was looking at Peter or his servants or Hanatamago or, until recently, _him_.

Licking his lips, Tino couldn't help but blush, ' _There's something sweet and almost kind but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined_.' Tino thought about his first night at the castle and how savagely Berwald had acted and shook his head. Berwald had done a complete turnaround and often did things that he couldn't help but find adorable. Like the way that he'd hide his face when he was embarrassed or how his tail would flicker when he was curious about something.

And now as he watched Berwald carefully handle the birds, Tino couldn't help but feel drawn to him. Berwald's ears flickered in the way that signified that he was content if not a bit nervous with handling such fragile creatures. He was doing just fine if Tino did say so himself, ' _But now he's dear, and so unsure; I wonder why I didn't see it there before_.'

"May I try," asked Tino as he reached out his hands like a cup so that Berwald could share his bird feed. Leaning forward to the birds, Tino thrusted his hands forward making the birds fly back, "Aww." He knelt forward and tried again, puffing his cheeks sadly when they flew away all together.

"Ya have t' be gentle," murmured Berwald. He sat down in the snow and patted his leg to wipe the feed off of his paw. Tino took it as an invitation and plopped himself right on it and blinked up at Berwald innocently.

"Gentle huh…kind of like you and you're being with me. Guess that makes since." Tino reached into Berwald's bag of birdfeed and tried again by sprinkling a bit in front of them. A lone blue bird flew down and nipped at the ground before looking up at Tino. Glancing between the feed on the ground and the feed in the blonde's hand, the sparrow hopped into Tino's hand, rousing a pleased squeal from the Nordic. He looked up at Berwald to see his reaction before slowly getting out his lap to walk around to the tree.

Berwald felt his heart all but try to jump out of his chest, ' _He glanced this way, I thought I saw...And when we touched he didn't shudder at my paw_.' Shaking his head, he stood back up, ' _No it can't be, I'll just ignore but then he's never looked at me that way before_.'

Once it's hunger sated, the bird gave Tino a grateful chirp before flying away. The blonde beamed at Berwald who was covered in birds. He covered his mouth to keep from giggling and startling the birds away, "You're so cute Berwald!" Tino gasped in horror of what he just said and hid behind the tree. What was he thinking saying something like that out loud?!

Well, Berwald didn't seem to have a problem telling him that, why should _he_? He peaked around the tree and squeaked when saw that Berwald was staring at him with affection. Hiding behind the tree again, he leaned against the bark, ' _New and a bit alarming. Who'd have ever thought that this could be?_ ' He slipped the hood back and thought, ' _True that he's no Prince Charming but there's something in him that I simply didn't see_.'

He scooped up a bunch of snow and balled it up before flinging at Berwald when all the birds flew away. The prince blinked, not entirely sure what happened. At the Beast's cackles, Berwald smirked, "Well two can play at th't game." Gathering the snow around him into a much bigger ball he raised it over his head to throw it at Tino but his little friend threw another at him making him accidently drop the snowball on himself.

"Well, who'd have thought," said Francis as he watched his prince and Tino chase each other playfully.

Alice hummed in excitement, "Well, bless my soul!"

"Well, who'd have known," asked Arthur. He smiled proudly at the sight of Berwald acting so carefree with Tino. Perhaps his prince truly was in love.

"Well, who indeed?"

Francis laughed when Tino managed to tackle Berwald on the ground, "And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own? It's so peculiar; we'll wait and see a few days more. There may be something there that wasn't there before."

The servants trotted towards the library where Tino was leading Berwald eagerly, "Come on, read with me!" He let Berwald take off his cloak as he settled down on the ground by the fireplace with a sea foam green book, "This is one of my favorites. It's The Little Merman. Have you ever read it?" Berwald shook his head no making Tino gape, "Oh, ya don't know what you're missing. Here come on, you can read this one and I'll just finish this other one here."

He opened the book to the first page where a beautiful illustration of a blonde haired merman was sitting on a rock looking up to the stars. Tino handed it to Berwald, "Here you go."

"Nh…that's alright."

"No, really, you read it."

Berwald tugged at his horn nervously, "Oh, No, you..."

Tino frowned, "No, you!"

"I can't!"

Guilt ate away at Tino as he pulled the book back towards his lap, "Ya mean you never learned?"

"I learned but…it's jus' been so long ago."

"Oh…well, it just so happens that this is the perfect book to read out loud. I don't mind reading it again. Come here, sit by me." He patted the ground next to him and smiled, the warmth spreading to his violet eyes as he leaned against Berwald and raised the book so that they could both see as he started them off.

The servants could see their master's tail wag slowly making them smile even further. Arthur stretched his arms up so that Alfred could pick him up, "Perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before." In his glee, the clock pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's cheek before tapping his wooden shoulder so that the coat rack could walk them to the kitchen.

Peter frowned, "What?"

"There may be something there that wasn't there before," said Alice.

"What's there, Sissy?"

"Ssh. I'll tell you when you're older. Come along now. Let's give them some privacy."

"Alice?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Will I ever get to be a boy again?"

"I hope so."

"When?"

"Soon, love. If it's to be. It will be very soon now. Now come along, little brother." She led the others back to the kitchen. A while later, he crept back into the library where Tino was almost finished reading the book.

Berwald cut him off, "His brother 's goin' t' give him legs."

A breathy laugh escaped Tino, "Wait and see."

"I never knew books could d' that," mused Berwald thoughtfully as he leaned back on the couch and stared at the glass ceiling.

"Do what?"

"Take me away from this place, make me forget fer a little while…"

"Forget?"

Berwald nodded, "Who I... _What_ I am. Before, I used ta—um…"

"What?" Tino scooted closer so that he was almost sitting in between Berwald's legs. They both blushed but neither made any indication of moving.

"I used t' work with wood; carving 'n carpentry. Never really had th' time fer readin' I suppose. Especially since…" Berwald closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, "Became too much of an animal I guess and th' only ones that kept m' from completely losing myself was Peter and my servants. And even then I'd..."

Tino played with the hem of his powder blue vest, "We have something in common, ya know." At Berwald's head tilt, the blonde smiled wryly, "In the town where I come from, the people think I'm odd."

"You?"

"Mhmm. So, I know how it feels to be...different." Cautiously, Tino reached out and held Berwald's paw, "And I know how lonely that can be. Sometimes family isn't enough. Like, I have my brother and all and I know he tries hard to make sure I'm happy but sometimes I just wanted a real friend to talk to. Someone who won't laugh at me, you know?"

"I do."

"They say mean things about my brother, too. I guess the only one of us that came out normal was my little brother Emil but then again he believes in faeries too. The only difference is that he doesn't go around town talking about them, ha!"

"Faereis are real," said Berwald flatly, his tail swishing at the memory of the dark fairy that cursed him and his castle. "Some are nice…other's aren't'"

"I guess the same can be said about people, huh?"

"I s'pose so."

"But you are. Nice I mean. I thought ya weren't at first but you've been kind to me and you're very good with Peter."

"He's m' son."

"Why weren't ya nice to Mathias?"

Berwald wrinkled his nose at the mention of that loud blonde, "He…are ya askin' why I locked 'im up?"

"Yes."

"I didn' mean t'. I was going t' give 'im a room but th' idiot ran into th' dungeons and locked himself up. I was in th' forge making a key for his cell when ya found 'im."

Tino blinked and looked at the fire before falling into a fit of laughter, "That _is_ something my brother would do." He stopped suddenly and stood on his knees in front of Berwald, "But if ya were just going to let him out why did ya ask me to stay?"

Worry made Berwald's fur stand and ears flatten against his head, "Please…don't be upset. I thought ya were cute and…I was—"

"Lonely?"

"Hn." Berwald his face behind his paws, "I-if ya want, ya can leave."

"What?"

"Ya can leave. Yer not m' prisoner. Never was if I was honest with ya."

Falling back to his romp Tino leaned against the couch, "I…I don't—I would—the only reason I would want to leave is to make sure my brother was ok. I'm worried since the last I saw him he was sick."

"If I could show you that h' was fine, would ya stay?"

" _Could_ you?"

Berwald stood up without answering and rushed on all fours to his room to get the mirror Lukas enchanted for him. He nearly stepped on Peter on his way back but he managed to pick him up and place him upon his shoulder before he could. Tino smiled upon seeing the teacup and plucked him from Berwald's shoulders as the beast settled back down.

The prince handed over the mirror, "All ya have t' do is tell it what ya want t' see."

Their hands brushed as Tino took the mirror. He looked at the reflective surface and said, "I'd like to see my brother, please." The mirror glowed a soft blue as the reflection showed him Mathias playing with his stew while Emil and Lilly talked with the Beilschmidt family. Emma said something to the blonde that made him crack a small smile. "I guess my letter made him see that I'm doing fine here, huh?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yes. Now that I see that Mathias is doing fine, I've never felt better!"

Berwald took the mirror and set it aside, "D' ya mean that?"

"Of course! Besides, I've always wanted to go on an adventure and this castle is amazing along with everyone in it."

"So will ya stay with us?"

"Not as your prisoner, no, but I wouldn't mind staying here as your guest."

"Yay," cried Peter happily. "Did ya hear that, papa? Mama said he'll stay with us from now on! Isn't that the most amazing news ever?" The teacup hopped from Tino's lap to Berwald's shoulder and nuzzled his father's fur until Berwald fell forward. It was for the best, his face was glowing from the happiness Tino just granted him. It would be embarrassing if Tino saw.

But Tino didn't need to Berwald's face to tell that he was happy. With the way his tail was wagging as if it had a mind of its own was enough. He couldn't help but giggle, "You're like a puppy…no, wait. I know!" The blonde ran his hand along Berwald's back until he reached his head, "You're a teddy bear!"

Inside Berwald's mind, the beast was absolutely cackling at Berwald's humiliation. To make matters worse, Tino found a spot behind Berwald's ears that he hadn't known he had. Purrs started to rumble from his throat, startling both Peter and Tino.

"Berwald…are ya purring?"

"Nh!"

"That's so cute! Why you're not scary at all!" Berwald was about to retort but he felt a sudden weight on his back. It took a few moments to realize that it was Tino laying on him as he also nuzzled into his mane, "Can I call you Teddy Bear from now on?"

"Uh…"

"Maybe Teddy for short?" Hanatomago snuck into the library and hopped onto Berwald as well so that she could curl into a ball on Tino's chest. The small Nordic yawned sleepily, "I'd like it very much if I could call ya that."

Berwald sighed, "Only if I can I call ya wife" There. He was sure Tino would say no to tha—

"Ok."

"Really?"

"I don't see why not. I might as well be yer wife what with Peter calling us his mama and papa." Tino gasped when he realized what he just said. He added carefully, "I-if ya really want to that is."

"An'thing fer m' wife."

Tino didn't freak out this time and instead smiled at the hint of teasing laced in Berwald's voice, "Do ya want me to finish the story?"

"If ya want."

Carefully opening it without disturbing the puppy on his chest, Tino continued where he left off, "The sensation was warm like tender caresses on his tail. He tore his gaze away to look down at what was going on with his fin when he realized that it was his brother's doing. The young prince sent Robert a grateful smile and the sea king returned it. This transformation was so much kinder than when he had first undergone it with the sea warlock. Sliding, down to the water he watched as his tail split into two, the need to go back up for air wasn't there so he assumed that his brother had allowed him to keep his merman lungs."

Berwald snorted quietly, "Told ya."

Shaking his head fondly, Tino continued to read to his teacup of a son and Teddy Bear of a…wait. If he was now Berwald's wife did that mean Berwald was his husband?! He listened to the soft purrs emitted from Berwald and the near silent snores from both Hanatamago and Peter. The panic didn't come to him this time and Tino smiled again. He could've sworn he read somewhere that it was good to marry your best friend. Maybe they could find himself a fairy and ask it to turn Berwald into a human.

Outside the carriage watched the light from the library slowly die out. It settled itself in its usual spot, a circle of flowers growing around it as it fell asleep.


	8. Beauty and The Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tino and Berwald get closer...

The road thus far had been hell for Eduard. He'd spent the past few weeks visiting asylum after asylum in hopes to find one that would help him with his plan to get Tino to marry him. So far each one had shut the door in his face but not without offering a few choice words. Finally, after some brooding, he'd managed to get word of someone who would at least hear him out. He wasn't sure what it hadn't occurred to him to simply ask the asylum of the neighboring town instead of searching high and low in further areas.

And that's how he and his brother found themselves waiting in the darkest corner of the seediest tavern he'd ever stepped foot in. A part of him wondered if it was such a good idea to bring little brother along to such places but he simply shrugged the thought away. It wasn't like he was forcing him here. Eduard curled his lip as Raivis slurped noisily away at his stew.

"Either eat right or don't eat at all," hissed the blonde in annoyance. When his brother didn't do either, he lifted his hand to smack him across his head but was stopped when the chair across form his was pulled out.

A man wearing a heavy brown coat and white mask sat down while waving his hand at a passing waiter, "I'll have the usual, Mr. Picardy." Turning his attention to Eduard he smirked, "Put it on his tab."

"Sadik, I presume."

"You presume correctly." Sadik slid out of his coat and made himself comfortable in his chair, "Now, I don't usually leave my asylum in the middle of the night but I was told that you'd make it worth my while." Coins spilled out from the large sack Eduard tossed onto the table and Sadik was quick to pick one up with a chuckle, "I'm listening."

"Do you know of the Kohlers?"

"I do. They used to live here a few years ago; left their house to their little brother and his new bride. Why?"

"Well, it's like this. I've got my heart on marrying Tino but he needs a little… _persuasion_."

Raivis looked up from his bowl of supper and giggled, "Turned him down flat—ow!" He rubbed his head from where his brother smacked him. "What? It's true!"

Ignoring the younger blonde, Eduard crossed his arms, "Everyone knows his brother is a lunatic. He was in my town's tavern a few weeks ago raving about a beast in a castle!"

"Mathias?" Sadik took his stein of beer from the waiter along with a plate of cheese and ham, "He's harmless."

"The point is that Tino will do _anything_ to keep him from being locked up."

"Yeah," said the smaller blonde with a grin, "even marrying _him_." He gasped and ducked away when his brother raised his hand to slap him again. They watched as Sadik slowly munched on his meal in thought.

By the time he was done, Eduard was already fidgeting impatiently to hear whether or not Sadik was going to him. The dark haired man finally glanced up, "So you want me to throw his brother in the asylum unless he agrees to marry you, is that right?" When the two blondes nodded, Sadik shook his head solemnly, "Oh, that is despicable. Heh, I love it!"

"So you'll do it?"

Sadik shrugged, "Yeah, I don't see why not." He reached over to shake Eduard's hand when Raivis asked why he was wearing a mask. "Oh, this? Sorry, I forgot I even had it on." He took it off and tucked into his coat, "It may not seem like much but the nut jobs at the asylum go crazy over it. Anyway, when would you like to do this thing?"

"As soon as possible."

"Great, we'll leave first thing in the morning then. If travel conditions are favorable we should arrive by late afternoon."

Eduard clasped his hands excitedly, "That sounds perfect."

* * *

Mathias had been staring at his tools for what felt like forever but really had only been roughly a half of an hour. Lilly had woken him up and _encouraged_ him to get ready for breakfast. And he uses that term very lightly for he'd never seen the girl look so threatening, though, he supposed that it was because of her pregnancy that she wasn't acting like her usual self. When he'd finally agreed, she had smiled and rubbed her belly before leaving his room.

Breakfast had been awkward for both Nordics for as soon as Mathias plopped down across from Emil; the younger brother had scowled and shoved his porridge into his mouth to keep from returning the morning greeting. On Mathias' behalf, could barely stomach a piece of toast over his worry for Tino. It'd been far too long and he really missed his little brother.

A knock at his cellar door pulled him out of his misery as he dragged himself to go see who it was. Emma stood on the other side with a picnic basket and a smile, "Hiya!"

Mathias blushed at his state of appearance and rubbed his head awkwardly, "H-hi."

"Um, sorry for coming around but your brother said that I would find you over here."

"Did he?"

"Mhm." Emma bounced shyly on the balls of her feet before shoving the basket towards Mathias, "Will you go on a picnic with me?"

The Nordic blinked rapidly, "W-what?"

"Lilly told me that you didn't really eat breakfast so I was wondering if you'd like to eat a light lunch with me instead."

"Oh, I don't know…" Mathias looked behind him and kicked himself for not taking this opportunity to eat with the girl. "It's not like I don't want to but…what if Tino comes home and I'm not here?"

Emma lowered the basket and smiled gently, "What if we eat in your backyard? That way we won't be too far from home and you'll get something in your belly."

"Ok." Mathias nodded and grabbed his jacket before locking the door behind him. He pulled out a few heavy blankets to lay on the snow before helping Emma down onto it. Behind them, Lilly and Emil peeked through the bedroom window and smiled before letting them have some privacy.

The spread was small but delicious looking. Warm fresh bread and small jars of preserves along with cheese, ham and a canteen filled with hot tea were placed before the lanky Nordic and he really wished that he was feeling well enough to display how happy this gesture made him. Mathias offered a small smile, "Thank you, Em. This really means a lot to me."

"I don't mind, I like taking care of you. Ah! I mean, well…" Emma hid her face behind gloved hands to keep her embarrassment at bay. She bit her lip when she felt warm hands tug at hers gently. Her green eyes blinked slowly as her embarrassment slowly left her and warmth settled in her belly.

"Don't hide, Em. It makes me happy to know that." Mathias blushed again and looked at their joined hands, "I know that a lot of people don't think very highly of me…let alone want to take care of me."

"Those people don't know what they're missing," said the Belgian quickly, "You and Tino are a breath of fresh air. We all think so."

"We?"

"Mhm, me and my family and the Italian brothers and Antonio. We don't think you guys are weird. As a matter of a fact I love yo—" She gasped and let go of his hands. What was wrong with her all of a sudden?! All she'd wanted to do was bring some lunch over to Mathias and try to get his mind off Tino for a bit. Now she was overwhelming the man with her feelings…

"Em?"

"I'm sorry. I—"

"Emma?"

"—really didn't plan on making you uncomfortable! Believe me that's the last thing I want—"

"Emma."

"—Please don't feel pressured into loving me back. I know I'm plain and not as pretty as the other girls in town but—!" Her face reddened from the sudden kiss to her cheek. When Mathias pulled back she softly pressed her fingers to the burning flesh.

"Emma, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I appreciate your feelings and while I would gladly, no, _ecstatically_ leap from the rooftops shouting in joy, I can't right now. Not with Tino missing." Mathias took her hand from her cheek and kissed the top of it, "I'm going to go look for him again, and when I find him then, and _only_ then, will I court you like you deserve. And if I'm lucky…maybe you'll even agree to marry a crazy inventor like me. I know it doesn't seem like it right now but you've made me the happiest man in the world."

"O-oh," breathed Emma, her eyes closing in bliss as his words settled in. She opened them and plucked the smallest buttery roll and spread some apricot preserves on it before offering it to Mathias, "Eat. I'll pack the rest of this and you can go look again."

"Huh?"

"I understand that your brother comes first, Mat. I wouldn't be able to function if it were Lars who was missing. Just promise me that you'll be careful though."

Taking the roll he shoved it whole into his mouth, "I promish!" Swallowing it and rinsing it down with a cup of tea, he glanced over to the window where Emil quickly pulled the curtain shut, "What about them? I'd hate to leave them alone here…I haven't been wood chopping and we're almost out."

"I'll take them home with me. I'm sure Matthew and Elizabeta would be happy to have them over."

"I-if it's not too much trouble.."

Emma grinned, "Nonsense! Anything for my future brother and sister in laws."

Mathias grinned back, "Thank you, Em." He helped back things up again and kissed her on the nose, "Thank you."

* * *

At the castle, Tino was sitting by the fireplace with his back against Berwald's chest. In all honesty, he wished that Berwald hadn't been shy about walking around shirtless like he used to. Somehow he'd gotten it into his head that it bothered Tino and had started to wear them. Though, he suspected that it had to do more with him wanting to be a gentleman than anything. Alice had been happy with the change at least.

He was ran his fingers over the prince's paw comparing their hand size while Berwald held the book they were reading with his other one, "Teddy Bear?"

"Hn?" Berwald ignored the beasts soft chuckles and glanced up from his book, his glasses sliding off from his snout.

Tino let go of the paw and reached up to fix them for him, "I've been wondering something for a while now. Why didn't ya want me to explore the West Wing?"

Sighing, Berwald, lowered the book, "Do ya remember th' flower in m' room? Th' one ya tried to touch?"

"Ooh, yes! That's a really pretty rose by the way. How did you get it to glow like that?"

"I didn't. A faerie did; it's…it's important that nothin' happens to it or else everyone will—their well being depends on that flower."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. If I did I wouldn't have tried to touch it."

"Doesn't excuse my behavior though. Never should've scared ya th' way I did."

"But I understand why ya did it. You protect them don't you?"

"Hn."

"You remind me of my brother…he's really protective of me and Emil, though sometimes I feel like I'm the bigger brother because I'm really protective of him when it comes to the mean things the people in the village say." Tino nestled back into the warmth of Berwald's soft chest and closed his eyes, "It wasn't so bad though, I liked going into my mind palace when things got too bad." He tensed when he realized what he just said and waited to be laughed at.

To his surprise, Berwald shyly brought an arm around to hold him as he himself nestled against the couch to get more comfortable. His back was starting to get sore but Tino seemed to be enjoying himself so he'd deal. Once he was settled, the prince sat the book aside, "What's tha'?"

"N-nothing really…it's just—erm—nothing!"

Berwald frowned, "If it provided ya comfort then it's not nothing."

"You'll laugh…"

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Hn." Berwald reached out his paw and extended his pinkie in a way that he used to do with Peter back when they were human. Tino took it and beamed before explaining how he liked to retreat to his mind and pretend that he was on adventures with a prince and a bunny who liked to wear trousers.

Arthur and Francis watched this exchange discretely before closing the library door. They waddled into the foyer where the rest of the servants were waiting eagerly for a verdict, even the table holding the enchanted rose was present to hear the status update on their prince's relationship with Tino. The clock grinned and stepped onto Hanatomago, "Things are going great!" A small burst of cheers erupted from the objects as they celebrated the news.

He cleared his throat and tapped on the table to regain their attention, "Right then, we're not out of the woods yet, chums. We still need to clean the place up, not so the guests who transformed but didn't wake up will do so to the same pristine castle they fell asleep in, but because we only have," Arthur pointed to his face, "twelve hours, thirty-six minutes, and sixteen seconds to create the most magical, spontaneous, romantic atmosphere ever known to man…or beast, ha!"

At the confused expressions on his colleagues 'faces, Arthur rolled his eyes, "Never mind. Need I remind you that if the last petal falls from that rose, the spell will never be broken. The Master is clearly smitten all he needs is the right opportunity to—you know what? Just, here, half of you go take care of the east wing and the other take care of the west wing. The rest of you come with me."

Everyone scattered to do what they were told, even Hanatomago who ran from under Arthur sending him flying through the air. Alfred swiftly caught him and carefully lowered him down, "Lighten up, babe. We've got to let nature take its course. It's obvious that there's a spark between them."

Arthur brushed himself off, "Yes, yes but there's no harm in fanning the flames…you know, a little. Besides they must fall in love tonight if we ever expect to be human again."

"Oh," sighed Alice happily at the thought, "Human again."

"Human again," echoed Francis. He chuckled and brought an arm around both British siblings, "Can you imagine it? I'll be cooking again, be good-looking again," he spun with both of them, "with a mademoiselle on each arm."

Arthur got away and angrily wiped his brass arms off. Francis didn't seem to mind however. He simply shrugged it off and smiled at the tea pot, "When I'm human again, only human again. Poised and polish and gleaming with charm. I'll be courting again, chic and sporting again."

"Which should cause several husbands alarm," added Alice with amusement. The candelabra laughed freely at that. Wasn't that the truth?

"I'll hop down off this shelf, and tout de suite be myself. I can't wait to be human again!"

Those few guests who had woken up were giddy with excitement as they helped clean out the rooms they'd been staying in. Hair brushes, combs and powder puffs alike organized the vanity they rested in, "When we're human again, only human again. When we're knickknacks and whatnots no more~"

Feliks opened up the blinds to the room to let in some light, "Like, when we're human again, good and human again. O, cherie, won't it all be top drawer?" He waddled over to the desk and blew the dust away from the sewing machine, "I'll wear lipstick and rouge and I won't be so huge." Glancing up to his friends he grinned, "Why, I'll easily fit through that door. I'll exude savoir faire. I'll wear gowns, I'll have hair!  
It's my prayer to be human again~" He took out a pair of nice black pants and started to hem them for Tino.

While the servants took care of cleaning inside, Arthur and Alice led the others to tend to the gardens and stables, "When we're human again, only human again, when the world once more starts making sense." Sardine-Panic rushed by excited when Alfred put fresh hay into the stable and accidently got his rein tangled on the clock's foot, sending poor Arthur tumbling soaring into a bucket of water. He popped his head out and sighed as he reached his arms out, "I'll unwind for a change."

Francis watched in amusement as the clock scrambled to get out, "Really? That'd be strange."

"Can I help it if I'm t-t-tense?"

Alfred finally answered his boyfriend's unspoken pleas for help and plucked him out of the bucket. He hugged Arthur to his chest happily, "In a shack by the sea, we'll sit back, sipping tea. Let our early retirement commence~"

"Yes!" Arthur rubbed his hands giddily and pointed to Francis with a smirk, "Far from _fools_ made of wax, I'll get down to brass tacks and rela-ah!" If he had skin, he would've paled. The clock buried his face in Alfred's wooden neck when Francis stuck his tongue out and flipped his waxy eyelids in a way that freaked him out more so than when he did it when they were humans.

"When we're human again," cried Alfred excitedly, oblivious to what was happening behind his back. He put his boyfriend back down and continued with his chores in the barn.

In Berwald's room, Peter rode on Hanatomago as they distributed clean clothes to the servants so that they could clean the mirrors, windows and walls. The brooms moved in sync while brand new carpeting was rolled out, "So sweep the dust from the floor. Let's let some light in the room. I can feel, I can tell someone might break the spell any day now!"

"Shine up the brass on the door," sang the servants as Peter happily watched the chairs rush by with more rags, "Alert the dust pail and broom." Hanatomago stepped aside to let the dust pails swallow the piles of dirt the brooms fed them. "If it all goes as planned our time may be at hand any day now."

Michele and her fellow dusters waited for the keys to unlock the doors leading to the balcony, "Open the shutters and let in some air~" Peter and Hanatomago left their papa's room so that the others could finish fixing it up.

"Put these here and put those over there," chirped Alice from her cart. A line had formed in the kitchen for her direction as to which dishes were to be put up and which were to be used for dinner tonight. She motioned for fresh water to be brought in so that Ivan could get himself cleaned up. Beside him, Natasha brought a rag to wipe the grease stains off. Natalya stopped sharpening herself to glare but before she could attack her sister, Brooms waltzed in to sweep away the muck in the kitchen.

They shuffled the dirt toward and out the balcony, "Sweep up the years, the sadness and tears and throw them away." It all fell onto Arthur who had been standing just underneath explaining to the shovels where to shovel the snow from.

Blushing, the brooms rushed to the ballroom to start on that. "We'll be human again, only human again, when the boy finally sets us all free."

Guests turned mops waited for the brooms to finish up so that they could polish up the marbled floor, "Cheeks a-blooming again, we're assuming again. We'll resume our long-lost joie de vivre!"

Peter giggled as Hanatomago started to sniff out his pet kitten turned pillow, "We'll be playing again, holidaying again—"

"— and we're praying it's ASAP."

The footstool found it and started to bark playfully, startling the kitten from its slumber. It hissed and ran into the ballroom, hopping over a pile of dirt that had yet to be picked up. Hanatomago wasn't as considerate. She ran through it, marking little foot prints over the still wet floors making both guest and servants frown.

Frightened whimpers from Hana and giggles from Peter echoed down the halls as the mops and brooms shooed them away. Sighing they cleaned up the prints, "We will push, we will shove. They will both fall in love and we'll finally be human again..."

Peter and Hana walked to the library where Tino and Berwald were still talking. The teacup hoped onto the blonde's lap and smiled as Tino finished naming all the animals on his farm, "And last there's Bloody-Jaw-The-Undertaker. He's my pet lamb!"

Inside Berwald's mind the Beast was dying of laughter while he himself didn't react to the names. Oh how precious the man before him was. _This_ is where he'd placed his affections. Blue eyes softening behind his glasses, he smiled softly and shook his head.

"What?" Defensive walls sprouted around Tino as he frowned and held Peter to his chest, "Don't judge me…"

"I'm not," assured Berwald, "I think yer amazing."

Blushing Tino fought his own grin, "R-really?"

" have quite an imagination. Ever think of writing yer own books?"

The small Nordic gasped, "Ya think I could?"

"Don't see why not. We'd love to read them wouldn't we, Peter?"

Peter nodded rapidly, "Yeah, mama, that would be so cool!"

"O-oh…well, if ya think I should."

"It's not a question of I think you should," started Berwald as he settled up to stretch, "It's whether ya think ya would like to."

Tino thought about it. He'd read just about everything Matthew had in his bookstore and had already gone through a good chunk of books in the library Berwald gave him. But…there was one thing that they were lacking and that was books that he personally could identify with. There were no books that spoke of frightening creatures who were in actuality the most gentle beings in existence. No books where a young man met and fell in love with—oh!

Blush returning tenfold, Tino let out shy laugh, "I think I _would_ love to write. Maybe I could write our story…"

This time it was Berwald who blushed under his fur, "O-our story?"

"Mhm. I think our story is pretty amazing so far don't ya think?"

"And how does our story end?"

"I don't know yet…"

Peter glanced between his two parents as they shared a meaningful glance and cleared his throat, "Papa? Weren't ya going to ask mama out on a date?"

"D-date," squeaked Tino.

"H' means dinner," corrected Berwald, "and…it would be my honor if ya could join me fer dinner, tonight."

"Just the two of us?" Berwald looked away shyly and reached up to tug on his horn while his tail wrapped itself around his leg nervously. Tino smiled fondly and gently took Berwald's paw in his, "I'd like that."

Outside, the spritz bottles that were spritzing the windows with soapy water cheered for their prince while two sponges washed away the grime in the shape of a heart encasing the two men. They'd been worried for a moment but truly Tino was an angel sent from above. "We'll be dancing again, we'll be twirling again.  
We'll whirling around with such ease."

Lawn scythes cut at the overgrown mess of grass they had while heavy push brooms swept away the mess. Garden sheers worked overtime as potted shrubs with unruly growth lined up to get their leaves clipped into glorious shapes they once cut into the shrubs themselves, "When we're human again, only human again. We'll go waltzing those old one-two-threes."

The carriage watched in bemusement as everyone that worked inside the palace scurried outside to help the outdoor servants with what was left in tidying the gardens. Arthur directed the traffic of wheelbarrows carrying new flowers that they'd found in a circle patch where the carriage had taken it's nap. One nearly rolled over him but Alfred plucked him up so that he could help turn on the water fountains, "We'll be floating again, we'll be gliding again. Stepping, striding, as fine as you please."

Christian and Kyle cleaned each other off from their perches on the gates. "Like a real human does," they sang ,"We'll be all that we was on that glorious morn, when we're finally re-born~ And we're all human again!"

* * *

The sun was setting when Eduard and his brother arrived at Tino's house. He motioned for Sadik to stand back before testing the door knob. To his delight it was unlocked and he opened it, "Tino! Mathias! Are you guys in here?"

He was met with silence aside the gentle hum of the water wheel turning and the clucks from the chickens outside. Raivis spotted a chocolate roll on the dining table, "Looks like they're not home, big brother. Maybe you're plan isn't going to work after all—oof!"

Eduard held his brother by the scruff of his shirt, "They have to come back sometime." He dragged him outside and deposited him on the cold snow, "Raivis, don't move from that spot until Tino and his brother come home; when they do come get us as soon as possible."

"W-wait, what if I get cold?" A red scarf was tossed at him before Eduard climbed onto the back of Sadik's carriage. Raivis narrowed his eyes and called out, "I'll just sit tight then, shall I?!" He tightened the scarf around his neck and sat tucked himself away in a corner in hopes to keep himself warm.

* * *

As the sun was setting, Tino twirled around in his room in a fit of giggles wearing nothing but a golden dress. He spun around and giggled again when the skirt lifted around him, "Did you seriously wear this, Fe?"

The wardrobe rose his head from his work and nodded, "Yeah, isn't it tots fab? You look cute in it."

Tino stopped twirling, "Cute?" He waltzed over to a full mirror and looked himself over. The near transparent golden sleeves fell his slender shoulders delicately and exposed his collarbone. His chest, though none existent, was covered by a sweetheart neckline that dipped into a fitted cut around his waist. Sweeping his bangs from his eyes, Tino grinned, "I don't look cute, Feliks. I look hot!"

"Like, do you want to wear that instead? I'm almost done with your waist coat…"

Blushing, Tino reached around him to unzip the dress, "I think I'll stick with what you're fixing for me."

Feliks smiled into his work, "That's probably for the best. But…if I were honest with you, Berwald wouldn't care what you wore. He likes you all the same."

"H-he does?"

"Like, haven't ya noticed?" The wardrobe extended a thread so that his shears could cut through before helping Tino into his new clothes, "He's tots in love. I can tell." Tino felt warm butterflies flutter in his belly and was only half listening to what Feliks was telling him as he helped him get dressed for dinner. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of someone as sweet and kind as Berwald loving him.

Meanwhile, in his bathroom, Berwald curled in on himself as Alfred washed him down. He was staring nervously at the wall ahead of him while Francis was busy telling him about the state of the castle. Ignoring the candelabra, the prince stuttered out, "I-I'm not sure I can d' this…."

"You don't have time to be timid, your majesty." Francis hopped onto a stool, "You must be bold. Daring!"

"Bold…daring…" A final bucket of water fell onto Berwald's head to wash out all the suds, Alfred motioned for him to shake before drying him off with a towel.

The candelabra smiled, "There will be music, romantic candle light, provided by myself. And when the time is right, you will confess your love."

Berwald sat down and let Alfred brush and trim his fur, "Yes, I can—I…I…no, I can't." The Beast rolled its eyes and scoffed at Francis' ignorance. His companion was right to feel bashful. Even among beasts the fear of rejection was strong no matter how great things were going with the prospective mate. He told him as much but it did little to calm the prince down.

' _If ya want, I can go in yer place_ ,' purred the Beast lecherously.

"No," growled Berwald startling his friends around him.

"Why not," demanded Francis. At Alfred's glare, he added gently, "You care for the boy, don't you?"

The prince wasn't sure what the original question was that he had accidentally yelled _no_ to, so he simply answered this one, "More than anything."

"Well, then, one can't just assume that their beloved knows what your feeling. You've have to tell them how you feel."

Alfred finished dressing Berwald and smoothed away the dark blue coat over his tail. "Don't worry, master. You'll be just fine. When me and Arthur first confessed to each other it was scary. Especially because he's, you know, Arthur but you'll find that they're just as nervous as you. Just have fun. You'll be say it when the time is right."

The door opened and Arthur scurried inside with a grin, "Are you ready, your grace? You're gentleman awaits." Berwald shyly walked out of his room from the west wing while Tino walked out from his room in the east.

The small blonde man was dressed similarly to Berwald's but his clothes were a soft powdery blue. Running his hands along the spotless rail, he glanced up at Berwald from underneath his eyelashes in a way that was too flirty to be innocent but too coy to be anything remotely sensual. It—well damn; Berwald gulped and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He glanced over his shoulder to see his friends make encouraging motions with their hands.

The prince shifted his attention back to Tino who was waiting for him patiently where the two opposing flights of stairs melded into one. With every step he took towards the angel of a man, he felt his fear diminish to something warmer. The blonde smiled sweetly at him and he returned it before bowing to him. Alfred picked up his violin and started to play a soft tune. He sent a silent nod to Alice as her cue.

"Tale as old as time," sang Alice gently as Berwald offered Tino his arm. To his delight, the blonde immediately looped his through and together they walked down the rest of the stairs.

Peter and Alice hopped onto the cart at the foot of the stair case. The chipped teacup watched with glittering eyes as Tino paused for a moment to pet Hanatomago who had been playfully barking at their feet before taking a hold of Berwald's arm again so that they could go eat, "True as it can be, barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly."

"Just a little change." Berwald carefully pushed Tino's chair in before going around so that he could sit across from him but stopped when he felt Tino's hand on his again. The blonde blushed and looked to the chair next to him before meeting Berwald's gaze again in a silent request. "Small to say the least. Both a little scared, neither one prepared, beauty and the beast."

"Ever just the same," continued the tea pot, "ever a surprise. Ever as before. Ever just as sure as the sun will rise."

Berwald smiled and settled in the chair Tino requested. Candles glimmered brightly, casting a romantic glow over to two shy men as they ate. Both kept stealing glances at one another only to look away when one caught the other.

Biting his lip, Tino felt a sudden rush of boldness and stood up, "I-it would be a shame to let her song go to waste…um, would—that is to say…"

As Tino stumbled over his words, Berwald wiped his mouth on his napkin before standing up and holding his hand out, "Would ya like t' dance?"

The blonde gasped, "I was going to ask _you_ to—um, yes." He took Berwald's hand and dragged him along as he skipped to the ballroom. They both raised their hands to take a hold of the other's waist and froze mid movement. Embarrassed chuckles bubbled from Tino's mouth as he rubbed the back of his head, "Seeing as I was going to ask ya to dance first, I think _I_ should lead."

"But yer my wife." A swift wag of the tail was the only thing Berwald did to show that he was teasing. His eyes sparkled as Tino sputtered cutely. The Nordic's hand found purchase on his gentle giant's shoulder, his eyes looking away while his cheeks puffed out in mock annoyance.

Alice exchanged amused glances with her older brother, "Tale as old as time, tune as old as song. Bittersweet and strange; finding you can change, learning you were wrong."

Tino glanced up when he heard Berwald purr and decided that perhaps it wasn't so bad to let his _husband_ lead. Leaning his head against his dance partner's chest, he let his pout morph into a soft smile as the gentle vibrations lulled him into a since of calm.

"Certain as the sun rising in the east. Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the beast." Alice smiled at the other servants who had gathered at the door to watch Berwald dance with Tino. Some were in awe at how far their shy prince had come along while others started to clear the dinner table. Across from her she saw Francis coax his fellow candelabras dim their flames to let the moon light illuminate the couple on the dance floor.

Her heart swelled at the sight, "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the Beast." The doors slowly opened themselves to let Berwald and Tino through. As soon as they were shut, Alice turned to her little brother, "Off to the cupboard with you, Peter. It's past your bed time."

Peter yawned to himself and nodded, "Ok, sissy."

"Hm. Goodnight, love." The pot watched as the little one slin before ushering her cart to the kitchen.

Outside, Tino and Berwald sat next to each other on a stone bench in a comfortable silence. The prince smiled to himself. His friends had been right. Things were a lot more simple when he just allowed himself to have fun and for once the Beast hadn't even made sound in his mind. Scooting closer, Berwald shyly extended his paws to Tino.

"What's wrong," asked the Nordic, taking Berwald's large paws in him hands.

"A-are ya happy here with me?"

Gently squeezing the pads on his palms, Tino nodded, "I am…"

Berwald's smile fell and he coaxed the blonde to meet his eyes, "Tino?"

"It's nothing, Teddy, it's just…well, I just thinking about my brother. He never wrote back and I miss him so much. I wish I could see him again, ya know?"

"We can, ya know. Come on." Tino followed Berwald to his room and marveled at how different it looked now that it was all cleaned up. He glanced over to the portrait he'd first seen but it was covered in a black drape. Before he got the chance to peek under it, Berwald called him over.

He walked past the marbled table holding the enchanted rose and gasped at the poor state it was in. Wilted petals clung to the bud in mourning for their fallen comrades. Tino touched the protective dome sadly, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's dyin'."

"Oh, no! Will you guys be ok without it?"

Ignoring the question, Berwald handed over his mirror to the smaller man, "D' ya remember how to use it?"

"Mhm." The Nordic gave a last look to the poor rose and took the mirror, "I'd like to see my big brother again, please."

The mirror glowed a soft blue as it's reflective surface showed Mathias shivering in the cold. Harsh coughs and his brother's sickly complexion had Tino gripping the mirror's handle tightly, "Holy Martin Luther!" Tears stung at his eyes as he looked at the reflection, "Big brother, why on earth are you in the woods?"

"What's wrong?"

"He's lost, I think, and he's all alone. He may be dying and—"

"Go."

"What?"

It tore Berwald's heart to see Tino so distraught but…the flower. Glancing at the wilting rose then at Tino's tear streaked face, he sighed, "Ya have to go to him. He needs you."

Tino's stared at Berwald with his mouth parted, "But—"

Raising his paw next to Tino's face, Berwald smiled gently, "It's ok. Ya weren't my prisoner anymore, remember? Yer free t' go."

The blonde looked to the paw before nuzzling his face against the warm pad, "Thank you for understanding how much he needs me." He tried to hand the mirror back but Berwald shook his head.

"Keep it. That way you could always look back and remember us."

Smiling, Tino reached out to cup Berwald's cheek, "Thank you so much, Teddy. Hold on, Mathias, I'm on my way."

Berwald turned away so that he didn't have to see Tino leave. He gripped the marbled table and pressed his forehead against the glass dome. Tears fell onto the protective shield when he heard the door open again. It was too much to pretend that it wasn't physically harming him to keep the Beast from resurfacing or that with every footstep Tino took away from him felt like his chunks of his soul were being ripped out.

Tiny foot steps clacked against his floor and he knew better to think that they were Tino's. Arthur climbed onto the table and grinned, "Well, your highness, I must say. Everything is going swimmingly. I knew you had in you, sire~"

"I let him go."

"Yes, yes, splend—wait, what?"

' _That's what I said_ ,' spat the Beast having found a way through Berwald's weakening will.

Berwald slumped his shoulders, "I had t'."

Arthur sputtered until he managed to choke out, "B-but _why_?"

' _Yes, prince, why?_ ' The Beast paced disgruntledly in Berwald's mind, his heavy paws thumping in anger ' _Tell us why you let your only chance of normality go? My chance of freedom go?!_ '

"Because, I love him," said the prince before walking out to the balcony.

Outside his room, Alfred, Alice and Francis gasped, "He did what?!"

Peter fretted, "He's going away?"

"And he was so close," whimpered Alfred as he slid down the wall to join his friends on the floor.

Alice nodded, "After all this time, he's finally found someone to love…"

"That's it then, right? Shouldn't that break the spell?"

"I'm afraid it's not enough. He's has to love him in return."

Francis sighed, "And now it's too late." As the adults spoke in a hushed circle, Peter scampered off.

From the balcony, Berwald watched as Christian and Kyle opened the gates to allow Tino ride Panic into the night. The pain in his chest became too unbearable when the blonde was out of sight. Sharp stabbing pain to his heart was enough to let the Beast show through, though Beast or not, nothing could've stopped the heart broken howl that erupted from his chest.

Down below, the carriage sighed sadly for the prince. A strong wind brought with it whispers from neighboring foliage and the flower circle formed around it cowered in fear. It brought a spidery appendage and gently caressed them, a blue glow translated the secrets they were told. The carriage hissed; this night was far from over.


	9. Eduard and His Mob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eduard tries one last time to get Tino to marry him. Thankfully Tino and his brother's aren't alone...

"Big brother!"

Tino had been calling out to his brother desperately in hopes that the he would hear him. So far nothing. He tugged on his horse's reigns to guide him towards a familiar patch of shrubbery he'd seen in the mirror.

"Mathias," he called again, searching around until he found a fallen tree, "Big brother?!" The young Nordic let out a gasp when he spotted his brother's black riding clock peeking out from under the snow. Jumping off, Tino rushed to the unconscious man, "Mathias! Mathias, wake up."

The snow burned his hands as he dug his brother out. Mathias was sickly pale but still breathing much to his relief. Tino picked him up effortlessly, not at all pleased by how light and thinner he felt. Guilt ate at him, he shouldn't have stayed so long at the castle.

"T-Tino," croaked Mathias as Tino climbed behind him on Panic-Sardine.

"I'm here, big brother. Come on, let's go home."

"Tino…"

On their way back to the cottage, Mathias succumbed to his fatigue while Tino held onto him protectively. Panic galloped as fast as he could without disturbing his master too much. He followed the familiar path to their home where Tino quickly helped his brother down and into their cottage. His brother's weakened condition weighed heavily on his mind that he completely forgot to lead his horse to the stable.

It didn't bother Panic any though. His thoughtful master had installed a lever that he could easily tug to let himself in. He trotted around the cottage, eager to see his friends and tell him all about his adventure with Tino and the strange creatures he befriended while he was away. Wouldn't they be surprised to hear that Tino had fallen in love with—pulling the lever to get into his stall, Panic let out a startled cry.

Raivis rolled out from the modest stable wrapped up in the Clydesdale's favorite blanket. He blinked his blue eyes up at the horse before glancing to his side at the glowing window and smoke rising from the chimney.

"Oh," he muttered as he curled back up in the hay with the other farm animals were staring between him and Panic-Sardine with wide eyes. Raivis, completely oblivious to the strange exchange between the animals, yawned sleepily, "They're back…" Eyes flying open, he jumped up, "They're back! I need to go tell Eduard right away!"

The small blonde fell face first into the snow. He turned around to see what had tripped him and saw an angry Clydesdale biting at the blue blanket still wrapped around his small frame.

"Oops," said Raivis bashfully, "guess that's yours, huh? My mistake." Shaking the snow out of his hair, he rushed towards the town to alert his brother that Tino and his brother had arrived.

* * *

Emma looked out the tavern's window while her family bustled behind her to keep up with orders. Business had been excellent the past few weeks despite Eduard's lack of patronage which was rather surprising. Ludwig, however, was ecstatic. He claimed that this was proof that they didn't need to let Eduard in anymore seeing as that people still showed up regardless if he was there or not.

There was one person that was missed though, at least by Emma. She let out a sigh when another blonde walked by her. He'd been missing a hat and therefore wasn't her Mathias. The snow outside had stopped but that didn't make her any less worried about the Nordic.

"Don't worry, Sis," murmured Lars from behind her, "I'm sure he's fine. It's only been a day after all."

Sighing again, Emma nodded, "I guess you're right."

"Come on." Lars gently tugged her away from the window and maneuvered her to where Lilly and Elizabeta were sitting with Mathew and Emil. When she was settled, Lars looked to the group, "Does anybody want anything else before the usual crowd arrives? Feliciano just finished making some pasta soup thing…Lovino brought bread bowls and we want to use them up. We've got pickle mackerel too."

Mathew and Elizabeta wrinkled their nose at that but Emil and Lilly's interest was piqued. The young Nordic turned to his wife, "Do you want something?"

Licking her lips, Lilly nodded, "I want the soup and baby wants the mackerel. Do you think you can put them together?"

Lars rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh…sure, I guess. I'm going to have to ask Ludwig to do it though. I don't think Feli will let me do something like that to his soup."

"Why? It sounds yummy!" Lilly giggled when her baby kicked her belly in agreement. She looked over the tall blonde's shoulder and her eyes lit up at the sight of assorted sweet bread. Without warning, she tried to get up from her chair.

"Lil', don't strain yourself," cried Emil as he gently pushed her back down, "Tell me what you want and I'll go get it for you."

"None sense." Lilly stood back up and addressed Lars, "I'll have the soup with mackerel but I also want some of that tasty looking bread there. Do you have apple cider?"

Lars chuckled, "Roderich just finished pasteurizing some. I'll go put in that order and get you a mug. Help yourself to the bread. It's on the house." He left to go do just that leaving his friends gaping at him.

"Something bad is going to happen," murmured Emma.

Emil watched his wife as she took her plate to pick out a sweet, "Why do you say that?"

"Big brother _never_ gives stuff away for free. He's a bit stingy where money is concerned but then again she's pretty cute. Who could ever be mean to such a sweet young woman." The small group shared a giggle when Emil blushed in pride. He allowed a small smile himself and turned to Lilly again.

The door slammed open and in waltzed Eduard with a masked stranger. He shoved his way past the usual group of patrons who idolized him and marched up next to Lilly at the bar, "Oi, Gilbert! Give me the usual! Make it two, one for me and one for Sadik here."

He moved just as Feli was walking around with a tray filled with steamy hot soup and cider for his friends. Eduard carelessly pushed his away making him lose his balance. The Italian gasped when he saw that he was going to fall on Lilly and swiftly maneuvered out the way. Unfortunately he fell and spilled everything on himself instead eliciting a pained cry as the hot liquids burned his stomach through his clothes. Eduard jumped in surprise and bumped Lilly as well but Feli quickly stood up to catch her.

Angered squawks from Mr. Puffin at the mistreatment of his master's mate quieted the tavern but before Emil could get his hands on Eduard, a swift fist met the blonde's jaw. Everyone stared in awe to see that it hadn't been the young lady's husband nor the Italians scary boyfriend who had assaulted Eduard but the Italian himself.

Feli trembled as he stood protectively in front of Lilly, his hands balled in tight fists, "Who do you think you are? We let you do as you please but that ends today, young man! Now, I don't care if you push _me_ around because I'm a man and I'm older than you but I draw the line when you do it to a ragazza. Especially one that's obviously pregnant. This place isn't a place where you can shoot your guns off or push people around! Do it again and this time not only will I let Lovino have at you but I'll even let my Luddy join in as well. And we all know how badly he's been wanting to punch you for all the mean things you do to us."

Smiling again, Feli crossed his arms behind his back, "So do try and behave yourself, si~"

The blonde brought a hand to his mouth and pulled it back to see blood. Clenching his own fists in anger he retorted, "Please, don't try to be a man. It won't end well for you." He smirked when his usual group gathered around him.

Elizabeta and Emma quickly pulled Lilly away and behind the counter as Ludwig and his siblings came up to stand behind Feli. Matthew frowned, "Don't try anything funny, you guys. Let's just go back to our business, ok, eh?"

"Tch, whatever," grumbled Eduard as he motioned for his followers to stand down. "You're not worth the effort anyway. I'll still expect the usual at my table, Gilbert."

As he retreated to his side of the tavern, Stan eyed Sadik curiously, "Whose this guy, Eduard?" Echoes of curiosity followed as they eyed the silent man.

Eduard's good mood returned tenfold and he took a seat in his chair, "Right! Meet, Sadik. He's head physician of the Asylum from the next town over. Turns out Tino's big brother, Mathias was a troublemaker over in his neck of the woods as well."

Emma's head poked up from her huddled group at the mention of Mathias. Her heart plummeted at all the horrible thoughts running through her mind. Glancing out the window, she saw a heavily locked carriage with the words asylum painted in bronze paint along the door. Emma's breathing increased in fear with what she heard next.

"We can't let him stay in our village then," cried one of the men close to the Eduard group.

"He's insane," yelled another, "who knows what sorts of debauchery goes on in his basement! It' no wonder his poor brother is the way he is."

Emil scowled as he whispered to Matthew, "What are they talking about? There's nothing wrong with my brothers!"

The men answered for him, "They're always going on and on about stupid things and explosions can always be heard from their home. And they also waste goods on their stupid faerie inn they've got going on in their meadow."

"Faeries aren't stupid!"

"They're not even real…"

"Don't say that," said Feli with a gasp. "Tino said they'll die if you don't believe in them…but I don't think that. I think they just get sick like with allergies or something." He glanced up to Ludwig for approval and the German smiled softly before pressing a cool cloth to his lover's burned belly.

Eduard clapped his hands, "The point is that Mathias is a disturbance to our peace and should be handled immediately."

It disturbed the German family and their friends how easily Eduard was swaying the majority of their patrons. Emma clutched her brother's arm in worry. As Eduard continued to build a mob, the doors of swung open again, though this time Raivis came through, "They're back, big brother! Tino and Mathias are back!"

Emma was absolutely sure that she wished that Mathias had taken a little longer in finding Tino, especially with the cruel glint in Eduard's eye. She tried to rush out but her brother caught her arm, "Lars we have to—"

The blonde held her back as Eduard led the mob out of the tavern. He watched them gather pitchforks and let torches and shook his head, "Nope, he's got a freaking mob. I like Mathias, I do, but I won't let my little sister go out there alone."

"Then come with me," pleaded Emma. She watched as Emil whispered something to Lilly before kissing her temple and rush out the tavern. "Big brother, I love him!"

"I'll go with you," offered Feli. He turned to Ludwig, "Please? Tino is my friend, Luddy. They're good men and—"

"Fine," cried Gilbert as he slid on a coat, "but the girls are staying with Antonio and Lovi. Birdie, I think it's best if you go too."

Matthew frowned, "I will not. Tino's my friend too."

As the men argued and Emma begged her brother, Elizabeta rolled her eyes with a huff, "Quiet, all of you!" When she had their attention she pointed to the Beilschmidt brothers, "You guys are going with Lars and Emma and Feli. Matthew you come with me and Lilly. Lovi likes you and won't throw a fit when we explain what happen if you're there. Everyone agree with that plan?" She didn't wait to hear whether they did or not, "Yeah? Alright, let's go!"

**~.~**

A throbbing headache was the first thing that greeted Mathias as he started to wake up. Through his bleary vision, he could see an outline of a blonde and he figured that it was just Emil. He tried to move but found that his movement was limited by the way his sheets were snug around his body like a cocoon. Just like how he tucked Tino in when he was sick.

His heart ached at the thought of having been found lost in the woods by one of his friends and dragged back to the house when his brother was probably shivering in the cold in the dreadful dungeon. He sniffed sadly, his lip quivering as he tried to hold back his tears.

"Don't cry, big brother."

Blue weary eyes blinked rapidly in effort to clear his vision. The blonde blob came into focus and he saw the smiling face of his dear brother. Mathias sat up abruptly, "Tino?"

"Shh," cooed Tino as he helped steady his brother. He ran a cool cloth over Mathias' face, "It's ok, Mathias. I'm home, its ok."

Mathias pushed the cloth away and pulled his brother into a tight hug, "I thought I'd never see ya again."

"I missed you so much." Tino as he squeezed his brother to himself just as tightly before frowning, "You haven't been eating."

The lanky blonde shrugged, "How could I? I've been so worried about you."

"But I sent ya a letter telling you that I was doing great. Didn't you get it?"

Pushing back, he eyed Tino in horror, "Ya were serious about that? But the beast… how could you possibly be alright? How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, silly. He let me go."

"That _horrible_ , beast?"

Tino frowned, "He's not horrible, Mathias. We were wrong about him." Nudging his shoulder gently, he added, "He didn't mean to lock you in the dungeon. Berwald told me that you ran in there yourself."

At that Mathias had the decency to blush, "Well…yeah but in my defense I thought he was going to eat me. He's pretty scary!"

"Well, yeah, I'll agree that he can be scary but, he's different now." Thinking back to the wonderful time he had with Berwald and the others at the palace, Tino smiled. The freshest memory was of this evening when he was dancing so close to Berwald. He'd smelled so nice and the purring was adorable...

"Tino?"

"Hm?"

Mathias poked his brother's rounded cheek, "You're blushing. Why?"

"Hm? Oh! N-no reason, haha!" Despite his awkward laugh, Tino couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get the chance to see him again. He touched his cheek with closed eyes and tried to remember how it felt to have Berwald's paw against it.

His bag rolled over suddenly breaking his concentration and out fell the enchanted mirror along with Peter. The tea cup smiled, "Hi~"

"Hi there, little guy," chirped Mathias happily as he lowered his hand so that Peter could hop onto his palm, "I didn't think I'd see you again."

Peter smiled politely at who he supposed was his uncle now before turning to Tino, "Mama, why did you go away? Don't you like us anymore?"

The little tea cup's words, Tino's eyes widened and he scooped him up to gently press him against his chest in a hug, "Of course, I do, sweetie, it' just that—"

A series of rapid knocks interrupted his words and he exchanged glances with his brother before setting Peter down, "Who one earth could that be?"

"I don't know," said Mathias. He pulled the covers around himself, "Maybe it's Emil and Lilly or the guys. Could be Emma too…we're kind of a couple now," he added with a shy grin. "Could you go let them in?"

"Ok." Tino slipped his shoes back on and went to go open the door. As soon as he did his friends all spoke at once. He raised his hands up, "W-wait, I can't understand you guys. Please one at a time."

"Ve, Tino!" Feli pulled him into a tight embrace, "I'm so happy you escaped the bear~"

Tino blinked in bewilderment but returned the hug all the same. He even reached out to hug Emil, "Where's Lilly and Mr. Puffin?"

"There's no time for that, brother," he said quickly, "There's some freak coming this way and—"

Disgruntled collective cries echoed from down the road until a huge mob walked up to the Tino's cottage. The Nordic blinked. Almost the whole town was standing outside armed with pitchforks and torches. Tino turned his attention to the stranger in a mask pushing his way forward. His eyebrows furrowed, "May I help you?"

"I've come to collect your brother," said Sadik as he stepped back so that Tino could read the word on the carriage that had rolled up. "Don't worry, we'll take very good care of him."

Scowling, Tino opened the door fully and stepped out, "Mathias is _not_ crazy!"

Leaning next to the cottage with a smirk, Eduard watched as the mob shouted in disagreement. His little brother stepped forward with his own torch, "He was raving like a lunatic! We all heard him didn't we, guys?"

"Yeah," shouted the crowd. Two men climbed out from Sadik's carriage and made their way up the steps to Tino's cottage but Emil ran up to stop them.

"Leave my brothers alone," he growled.

Raivis rose an eyebrow before smirking himself when he saw Mathias poke his head out to see what all the fuss was about. Tino wrapped a protective arm around his older brother's waist when he noticed how hostile the crowd was getting.

"Mathias," called Raivis, "Hey, tell us again, man, just how big _was_ the beast?"

Both younger Nordics prayed that Mathias wouldn't fall for the bait but before they could utter a word, Mathias was waving his arms to emphasize his words, "H-he was, I mean, he was huge! I'd say like, six, no, _ten_ feet tall! And he was really furry and had horns!" When everyone started ridiculing and laughing at him, Mathias dipped his head and hugged himself, "I-it's true…"

"Hmph, well, ya don't get much crazier than _that_!" Waving his hand, the young blonde motioned for Sadik's men to move forward, "Get him out of here."

The two men grabbed Mathias and the lanky blonde struggled in their grasp, "Let go of me!"

"Big brother! No!" Tino scurried down the stairs after them and grabbed Sadik's arm while Emma shot out of her brother's hold to try and stop the men trying to put Mathias away, "you can't do this!" Sadik shrugged out of the small man's grasp and climbed onto his carriage as he waited for his assistants to force Mathias into the carriage.

Before Tino had a chance to go after them, he felt his own arm pulled back. He turned around and saw Eduard looking at him with an amused expression, "Eduard?"

"Hi, there, Tino," he said coolly, as if this were just any other day that he 'happened' to run into the Nordic in town, "shame about your brother."

Grasping the taller man's shirt in his fists desperately, Tino looked into his eyes, "Eduard! Eduard, _you_ know my brother's not crazy. Tell them!"

"Hmm…I could help clean up the little misunderstanding. If…"

"If what?"

"If you marry me," said Eduard with a small grin.

Tino's eyes widened in disbelief, " _What_?"

Pulling him closer, Eduard tried to nuzzle his face in Tino's hair, "One little word and I can make everything go away. It's a husband's duty, after all, to make his lover happy."

Husband? Tino looked to his feet as he tried to understand what on earth was talking about. It didn't take long for him to figure out what was going on. He pushed him off of him, "I already have one and he's a much better husband than you could ever be!"

Eduard's eyes shot open in shock. Out of all the things he'd imagined Tino saying, hat hadn't been one of them. Tightening his fists, the blonde glared at the small Nordic, "You have a _husband_?"

A sudden cry from one of the men holding Mathias called everyone's attention to them. Mathias had managed to get out of their grasp when another had come out of the carriage to get Emma. He tried to fight his way to her, "Let go of her!"

Lars and his cousins tried to get to them but they were held back by the rowdy mob. Tino quickly ran through his options before rushing back inside his cottage to grab the mirror Berwald gave him. He patted his tea cup of a son gently, "Don't be scared, Peter."

"Wh-what are you going to do with that, mama," asked Peter.

"I have to show them." Running back outside, Tino waved his arms to get the mob's attention, "Mathias is not crazy and I can prove it." He looked into the mirror, "Show me, Berwald. Show me...the beast!"

The mirror glowed hotly in his hand and the sound of Berwald's desperate roars resonated through them. His image was on display for all to see, rousing frightened murmurs from the mob. Feli clutched Ludwig's arm, "I-Is that the bear? Is it dangerous?"

"No, not at all!" Tino beckoned his friend to come closer so that he could see, "I know he looks like a scary guy, but he'd never hurt anyone." He turned the mirror around so that he could look at Berwald himself. His eyes warmed at the sight of him as he ran a knuckle along Berwald's furry cheek, "He's really kind and gentle. He's my hus—he's my friend."

Feli cocked his head at how fondly Tino spoke of the creature in the mirror before smiling in understanding himself. He placed a hand on Tino's shoulder, "He sounds like my Luddy." Giggling, the Italian peered over his friend's shoulder to get another look at the beast but Eduard snatched Tino by his shoulders to get him to look at him.

"If I didn't know any better," he started with hardened eyes, "I'd think you had feelings for this monster."

Tino pulled back and cradled Berwald to his chest, "He's no monster, Eduard. _You_ are!"

White puffs of smoke came out of Eduard's nostrils as his breaths became heavy. Gritting his teeth in jealous anger, he sneered at Tino while addressing the mob, "He's as crazy as his brother! The Beast will make off with your children. He'll come after them in the night!"

"No!" Tino tried to calm the crowed as Eduard tried, and was successfully inflaming them with fear.

"We're not safe till his head is mounted on my wall. I say we kill the Beast!"

To Tino's and Peter's horror, the mob agreed with their hero. They responded in near unison, "Kill him!" Around them, the town's folk conspired amongst themselves, "We're not safe until he's dead. He'll come stalking us at night."

Even the women who'd come along picked up their little one and held them protectively against them as they cried out in fear, "Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!"

"He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free," said one of Eduard's many loyal followers.

Eduard nodded with approval, "So it's time to take some action, boys. It's time to follow me!" He snatched up his little brother's torch and started to rouse the mob, "Through the mist, through the woods. Through the darkness and the shadows, it's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride."

He grabbed Feli by his shirt collar, "Say a prayer, then we're there at the drawbridge of a castle and there's something truly terrible inside." Before Ludwig could attack him, Eduard shoved the Italian into his arms with a smirk and went after his own brother instead.

The teen tried to hide behind Gilbert but Eduard got him instead, "It's a _beast_. He's got fangs, razor sharp ones. "Grabbing at Raivis' hands, he shoved the torch into them, "Massive paws, killer claws for the feast." When he was sure that his brother wouldn't drop the torch he stood up and called for his horse, "Hear him roar, see him foam but we're not coming home 'til he's dead!"

Eduard's grin grew broader as he was welcomed with cheers of approval. He raised the mirror high in the air, "Good and dead! Kill the Beast!"

"No," cried Tino as he tried to take the mirror back, "I won't let you do this!"

Despite his efforts, Tino cried out in pain when Eduard pulled his arm back, "If you're not with us, you're against us!" He motioned to the others, "Bring his brothers! We can't have them running off to warn the creature."

Lars pulled his sister back and motioned for his siblings and Feli to hid behind the cottage as the mob ushered Mathias and Emil into the cellar. Emma looked horrified by her brother's actions but he simply silenced her with a look that told her that he had a plan.

Mathias struggled harder at the sight of his little brothers being man handled, "Get your hands off of them!" He was thrown in first followed by the other two.

Tino threw his weight against the door, "Let us out!" He let out a hiss when a sudden heat burned his shoulder. "Is that…"

"They found my torch knife," muttered Mathias as they were trapped inside.

Outside, Eduard's horse was finally brought to him by the time Stan melted the lock so that nobody could get the brothers out. He stood back when he was done with a proud smirk. Smacking his friend's back with approval, Eduard strapped on his bow and slid his hunting knife into his boots before climbing on to his black steed, "We'll rid the village of this Beast, who's with me?"

Dozens of men answered his call. They past clubs of wood around, "Light your torch, mount your horse—"

"Screw your courage to the sticking place."

"—we're counting on Eduard to lead the way" The blonde clicked his tongue to his horse and nudged him to move forward while his posse followed faithfully behind him. "Through a mist, through a wood, where within a haunted castle something's lurking that you don't see every day."

"It's a beast; one as tall as a mountain. We won't rest 'til he's good and deceased."

As they walked through the town, Lovino opened popped his head out of his apartment while the others glanced out of the windows upstairs. They watched as Eduard and a horde of men paraded through town, most armed while others opened the town's armory to get some for themselves, "Sally forth, tally ho. Grab your sword, grab your bow. Praise the Lord and here we go!"

Eduard looked into the mirror and sneered at the Beast inside it, "We'll lay siege to the castle and bring back his head!" The mirror hissed and sizzled with blue sparks until it released dense green smog that created a trail into the woods. Eduard's eyes glinted dangerously, "Let's go hunt, boys."

They marched on after Eduard as the blonde lead the way, "We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us and this monster is mysterious at least." Muddy puddles from where the rain was starting to pick up and melt the snow splashed much onto the flower buds that were starting to bloom. Heavy boots stomped on some of the flora as they dragged a long saw around to a tree, "Bring your guns, bring your knives; save your children and your wives."

Snapping in half, the tree fell and the foliage around it cried for their fallen comrade. Pine and other flowery smells went unnoticed by the men as they dismembered the tree of its branches, "We'll save our village and our lives. We'll kill the Beast!"

Fine! If the men weren't going to answer to their enraged cries, the woods was sure that there was a certain carriage that would. A gust pierced through the rain and carried their disapproving whispers to towards the enchanted castle that their guardian had chosen as a temporary home.

* * *

Tino tried to unhinge the burglar bars in the cellar's window to escape while his brothers looked around for something sharp to break through the door itself. The crowbar he'd been using snapped in half and he threw it aside in frustration. Angry tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried kicking them off but that only resulted in a sore foot.

"Tino, stop that you'll hurt yourself," murmured Emil. He wrung his hands nervously at the sight of his brother's scowl. "So there really was a beast after all, huh?"

"Berwald. His name is Berwald and he's not a beast! He's not a monster, he's not." The blonde stopped kicking and shook the bars desperately with his hands instead, "Damn it, I have to warn him! I have to-he gave me nothing but kindness and love and I just handed him over to a real monster. He's going to hurt him, Mathias, and this this is all my fault!" Collapsing in on himself, Tino pressed his forehead against the bars, heavy sobs escaping his throat as he choked out, "I-its all my f-fault...oh Mathias, what are we going to do?"

Mathias dropped his tool box and rushed over to Tino to pull him into a comforting hug, "We'll think of something, little brother."

Outside the cellar, Lars and Roderich were trying to figure a way to open the lock while Emma and Feli tried to locate something that could just bulldoze through the heavy wooden frame. Ludwig had taken an axe to it but the head had fallen off from the strength he'd used, "Damn it!"

"U-um, excuse me," said a meek voice to Gilbert who was picking through the barn in effort to find another ax. The albino bumped his head against a shelf and a bucket of chicken feed fell on him making Peter giggle, "Sorry."

Gilbert pulled the bucket off and looked around, "Who said that?"

"Me~"

"Me who?"

Peter hopped onto a barrel and smiled, "Me, Peter, silly. I have an idea but I need your help."

Red eyes widened comically and Gilbert fell back on his rump, "Holly shit! West! Roddy! A tea cup's talking to me! Do I kill it? I don't want to cause it's pretty awesome but I think Vati told us not to trust talking dishes cause they could be demons in disguise." Glancing at Peter, he asked, "You're not a demon are you?"

"I-I don't think so." Peter fidgeted under Gilbert's, "Mama?"

Tino's sobs ceased at the sound of his little tea cup and he pressed his face through the bars again, "Baby, is that you? Peter!"

"I'm here, mama. Um…am I a demon?"

"Of course, you're not! Who said you were?!"

"This funny looking guy with—mph!"

Gilbert covered Peter's tiny mouth with a finger and a nervous laugh, "Kesese~ N-no one said anything, Tino. Hold on guys, the awesome me is going to help get you out of there!" Carefully picking up the tea cup, he held him at eye level, "What did you have in mind, kid?" He followed Peter's gaze to the hill behind them where they had left Mathias' invention. "Ah!"


	10. Tale As Old As Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finale!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story here and for leaving me Kudos. You guys are awesome! I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter in this story =)

A score of Queen Lucy's personal guard were making their way through the woods. They'd been sent out to look for their young prince who'd gone missing a few years ago after he decided that he could do more good out in the world than in a plush castle. Having been born to a faerie and a human had had its perks but, to the queen's dismay, it had also granted him the excuse that a faerie never stayed put in one place for too long.

But enough had been enough. The young prince had been gone for far too long and his mother needed him to return so that he could be sent out to discuss politics with Prince Berwald. She'd received a letter stating that he required a suitor and the queen had all but jumped at the chance of uniting the kingdoms. Only thing was the she was shy one son.

Which is why said score of the queen's personal guard, with their red, white and blue crossed banner held in pride, was trudging through the muck in hopes to find their wayward faerie prince soon. They came across another group not a few minutes down the road, though these seemed angry and riled with excitement. The captain of the guard raised his hand to halt his men. He pointed to the horse rider, "You, state your name."

"Eduard Von Bock," said the blonde with a raised eyebrow at the redhead before him, "And you are?"

"Robert Kirkland, Commander of Queen Lucile's personal guard." Tired emerald eyes glanced at the men behind Eduard then at the mirror in the man's hand, "Where are you going?"

Sighing impatiently, Eduard showed the Captain the mirror's reflection, "There is a beast lurking in the castle up ahead. He kidnapped one of our citizens and held him hostage for the past few weeks along with another. We're going to go kill it before it attacks again."

The Captain's breath hitched at the mention of the castle and he exchanged glances with his own men before addressing Eduard again, "The hostage…did he have blonde hair, colored eyes and is about yea high?" He raised his hand to his shoulder and prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Yes."

"And the other, was he blonde as well and about my height?"

"Yes! Tino and Mathias; now kindly step aside."

Robert narrowed his eyes at the names. Tino and Mathias? Oh. Perhaps the princes were using aliases. But if what this man said was true, then that would explain why they hadn't heard from either. Unsheathing his sword, the Captain said, "We will join you on your quest. I think that you and I have a mutual interest in that castle."

"Do what you want. Just stay out of my way."

* * *

The sound of rushing paw prints echoed through the gloomy castle. When the others heard that Berwald had let Tino go without confessing his love, they'd locked themselves in their respective rooms to mourn their lost chance for being human again. Alice had gone into the kitchen to break the news to the other dishes but when she went to the china cabinet to wake them up, they'd all been huddled.

She broke up their hushed whispers but the creamer had cried out that Peter was missing before she got a chance to deliver the news. And now she, Hanatomago and the rest of the dishes were on the hunt for the missing teacup. Alice motioned for the foot rest to go into the study, "Peter, are you here?"

The royal messenger turned into a quill pen glanced up from his fountain of ink, "It's just me, Alice."

"Oh, well, have you seen my brother?"

"He snuck into Master Tino's satchel last I saw him."

"…what?"

"Mhm. Hey! Do you know how long it's going to take before we're human again? I thought it would happen as soon as our Master confessed his love to Tino and vice versa but—oi! Where are you going?"

Alice didn't wait to hear out what Vladimir was asking her. She had to find Arthur immediately! She rushed down to the library and burst through, "Peter's gone! He left with Tino."

"I knew it," cried Arthur in frustration, "I _knew_ it was foolish to get our hopes up. Not only did the plan not work but now Peter's gone too. Tino's taken everything from us!"

Alfred shook his head, "You can't possibly believe that, Artie. They guy's brother was sick and that couldn't be helped." Putting his knob of a hand on the clock's head, he sighed, "Please don't be like that." Arthur looked away. That may have been true but that didn't mean that he had to be happy about what happened. After all, Berwald was upstairs shredding his room in his despair and that was enough to upset the clock.

"Well, perhaps it would have been better if he had never come at all," said Francis with a huff, as if reading his friends mind. They discussed any other options they could have when Hana suddenly perked her tassels up and rushed to the window in barks. Francis perked up, "Could it be?"

"Is it he," asked Alfred. Sighing, he shook his head, "Nah, just some angry looking villagers. Hey! Vladimir didn't forget to send out their monthly allowance did he?" Arthur and the rest exchanged glances before waddling over to the window. They gasped when they saw an angry mob and soldiers at their gates. Christian and Kyle were doing their best to not lose their hold on the iron doors.

"Sacre Bleu! Invaders!"

"Encroachers," exclaimed Arthur with wide eyes.

Alice squinted at the men until she saw what Eduard had in his hand, "And they have the mirror!" Dread filled her porcelain belly as she turned to her brother and friends, "Y-you don't think Tino lied about his brother being ill just so he could escape and send this mob after us do you?"

"No!" Alfred smacked his hands against the windowsill angrily, "Will you guys drop that? Tino is a good guy and he really liked us and Berwald. It's not fair that we're judging him because we didn't get our way or for unintentionally breaking our master's heart. Now look, I don't know why that man has the mirror or why there's an angry mob out there but we have to warn the master. If it's a fight they want we'll be ready for them!"

Striking a heroic pose, the coat rack grinned, "Now I know I'm just a stable boy but since I'm the only tall one here, that makes me the hero! Everyone else will be my back up. Who's with me?" When no one answered, Alfred turned around to pout at Arthur but the clock was already scurrying away to prepare the castle's defenses.

Outside, Kyle tried his best not to show that he was straining to keep the gate closed. His stone eyes rolled to the side to see how Christian was fairing. At first they had thought that the sound of horse hooves was Tino coming back but when they heard angry chanting and a fierce glow of flame, they knew that that wasn't the case. And now they were trying to keep the mob from coming any closer to their castle.

Blow after blow, the men wore the gate down until someone called them over to a gap in the stone wall. The swiftly moved to block the opening and a hoe let itself fall so that the first person though would step on it. Cursing loudly, one of Eduard's men backed away and pulled out the flaming knife he took from Mathias' cottage and started to smolder the iron gates.

"What's that," asked Robert curiously as the iron turned bright red and began to come apart.

Stan shrugged, "Not sure but it's pretty handy."

"I'll say."

To the two stone sentries' horror, the bars fell from their hinges until a gap wide enough to let the men through along with their naked tree. Eduard urged them through, "Take whatever booty you can find but remember, the Beast is mine!" He charged towards the castle while Robert and his soldiers lingered behind them. They stared at the state of Berwald's castle and wondered if the prince had perished under said Beast. What of _their_ prince? And would it really be ok if they let these villagers pillage Prince Berwald's castle?

Shrugging, Robert motioned for his men to help Eduard's with the tree. This wasn't their jurisdiction nor their concern. Their prince was. From across the court yard the carriage blinked a window before widening them in surprise. It recognized those banners.

Inside, servants and guests alike hustled down to the foyer while others scurried to prepare themselves to fight. The knights stepped off from their pedestals and gripped their swords in their metal gloves for the first time in years, "Hearts ablaze, banners high. We go marching into battle unafraid although the danger just increased." They were told to stay away from the villagers and to take on the soldiers that had accompanied them instead. To say that they weren't excited to finally taste battle again was an understatement, even if they were under strict orders not to kill.

"Raise the flag, sing the song," cried the men outside, "Here we come, we're fifty strong and fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong. Let's kill the Beast!"

Berwald had his forehead pressed against the protective glass dome of the enchanted rose, his whole body numb with depression. The Beast had taken over him and in a fit of rage had completely destroyed his bedroom again. Curtains were frayed and tables broken but the Beast had worn himself out and had retreated once again in his mind, but not without some choice words about how he was an idiot.

"Pardon me, Master," called Alice as she burst through his door.

The prince sighed sadly and curled in on himself, "Leave m' in peace."

"But sir! The castle is under attack!" At this, Berwald's ears twitched. He could hear pounding at the castle's heavy wooden door along with people chanting, 'Kill the Beast! Kill the Beast!'

The fur at the nape of his neck stiffened, "Peter?"

"H-he's not here, sire. Master Tino has him…he snuck into his satchel and he's with him."

"So he's safe."

Alice nodded, "What shall we do, Master?"

Heavy rain drops slowly began to knock on his balcony window. What should they do? If Peter were still there then he would've let the beast consume him and let him do what he wanted to the intruders. After all, for as much as the creature within him complained and snarled at him, he wasn't a heartless being. Everyone in the castle was considered to be a part of his pack. But if Tino were still there with him then he would've personally fought them off himself.

However neither were there. He was all alone and based on how tenacious the men outside were to get inside, he was willing to bet that they weren't after what was left of his material valuables. They were there for _him_. Why or how they figured out he lived in there was far from his concern. They were here now and they would get in. They would probably find him to and kill him.

Glancing at the flower that now only had four petals drooping off the bud, he sighed. There was a worse fate than death. Living with the guilt of everyone being turned into knick knacks because of him and the heartache of not having neither his son nor his beloved Tino would kill what was left of him, only to leave his vessel for the Beast to consume completely.

Berwald finally turned to Alice and smiled slightly, "Tell th' others ta hide so that they won't be taken. Maybe Tino will come back and—" He brought a paw to his snout to hold back a choked sob. He waited a moment to compose himself before finishing, "—he'll be kind to you all. If he comes back, tell him th' castle is his."

"Master you can't be seri—"

"Berwald."

"Excuse me?"

"Your little brother is my son. And all of ya took good care of me and stood by my side despite what I was becoming. Yer all family to me and I wish I could've been braver and told Tino how I felt so that my family didn't have to suffer."

Alice heard her friends struggle downstairs along with the insistent 'Kill the beast.' She waddled further into the room, "But if we hide, whose going to hold them off?"

Another petal fell from the weeping rose making Berwald smile turn grim, "It doesn't matter now…just let 'em come."

Downstairs all the servants, big and small, pressed themselves against the heavy door but with every 'Kill the Beast' even heavier thuds knocked against it sending them forward before they rushed back to press themselves again. Alfred grunted as a particular thump against the door, "Dude, Francis, your plan isn't working, man."

Feliks grunted in agreement when his drawers opened up when the door gave way a fraction. "Like, we have to do something else. This thing isn't going to hold!"

"Ok, well then what's _your_ plan, smart guys," snapped Francis.

Hurried delicate pitter patter of Alice hopping down the stairs got their attention. Arthur frowned when Berwald didn't show up behind her. He raised his minute hand in question and his sister shook her head, "He's too depressed to fight. Our master, no, our _friend_ needs us to protect our home from the invaders this time."

"I have an idea, if anyone wants to hear it," said Alfred breaking the brief moment of silence.

Arthur grimaced when a shard of wood fell on him. He pressed his small body against it, "Alright, what is it?"

The men outside backed up and rushed at the door with everything they had, "Kill the Beast!" To their delight, the door gave way and they were able to enter with their weapon's held high. However there was nothing to attack. As a matter of a fact there wasn't anything save a bunch of junk and furniture lying about and about ten suits of armors lined up.

Eduard motioned for his guys to spread out when all of a sudden Francis gave the signal for everyone to attack. The smaller, heavier, more durable objects launched themselves off the taller pieces of furniture and aimed towards the faces. This managed to startle them out of their line formation and the servants took on Eduard's men. Drawers were thrusted out to crush their heads in effort to disorient them while rugs and chairs worked together to knock the men off their feet.

The queen's guard watched with wide eyes as what should be inanimate objects attacked their comrades. A coat rack used two of its four arms to hold on to its victim while the other two repeated punched him. Robert jumped when a heavy kettle fell upon another and two pans started to smack it repeatedly until the man fell into a chest.

The captain and his men shook themselves out of their shock when the chest had the audacity to lick its mouth clean and withdrew their swords, "Help them!" However, just as they were about to swing at the busy objects, the suits of armor rushed in with their own swords clashing against the queen's guard.

* * *

Peter watched as Gilbert fiddled with Mathias' machine until the little bell on top of it blew to signify that it was ready to be used. The albino let out a triumphant laugh, "Kesese~ Alrighty, kiddo. Let's do this!" He situated himself in the soft leather seat and pulled all the levers until the thing actually started to move forward. "Be sure to get Peter, ok Gilbird?"

The little bird chirped once and gripped the tea cup's handle with its tiny taloned foot.

A shrill whistle and the sound of pullies overworking themselves drew both the Beilschmidt's and the Kohler's attention to the hill. Mathias looked through the crack in the cellar door, "What the hell…" His eyes widened when he saw what was coming their way, "Look out you guys!"

He pulled Tino and Emil as far back as he could while Lars gripped both Ludwig and Roderich's shirtsleeves and ducked out of the way. Not a few seconds later, Gilbert jumped out of the machine just as it made impact with the cellar door. Gilbird did what his master asked and flew away with Peter so that the tea cup wouldn't shatter.

Tino and his brothers were coughing as they poked their heads out from their hiding place. Not wasting any time, the Nordic rushed out and tugged Panic out from his stall, "I have to go, but thank you so much for helping us!"

"Oi," cried Mathias as he scrambled to get on the Clydesdale as well, "You're not going anywhere without me."

"Or us," added Roderich hastily, "that imbecile and his mob may prove to be too much for just the two of you. Ride on; we'll be right behind you."

Nodding, Tino brought down the reins on his horse to usher Panic on.

* * *

Back at the castle, the battle still raged on. The suits of armor managed to push Robert and his men outside and were proving to be worthy opponents. Feliks gave a little battle cry as he leapt from the stairs onto a man who was using his axe to chop of the legs of a few chairs, "Like, that's not cool, broski!" He twisted his body the side to smack another who raised his own axe to strike him before pulling him into his chest with his door.

The hair brush and powder puff that usually stayed with him in his room had their way with the man Feliks just engulfed before kicking them out of their hiding spot. They shared a laugh with Feliks as the man looked at himself and screamed at the horribly girlish dress he was now sporting.

"Oi! Up here, ya scurvy scum," yelled Alice from one of the marbled pillars, her spout steaming dangerously. When she got the attention of a few of Eduard's men, she shouted to her teacups, "Now, children!" She and her little ones tilted their heads down and let their boiling tea fall onto the unsuspecting below.

Alice glanced to the side at the sound of crazed laughter and rolled her eyes when her brother came out sporting his feathered hat from their… _delinquent_ days.

The clock spotted Francis cornered by Stan as the man held his torch to him so that the candle would melt. Cackling to himself, Arthur picked up a pair of scissors and slid his way down with the sharp end pointed towards his target.

Francis' jaw fell open when Stan jumped into the air in pain. He looked over to Arthur but the clock simply tilted his hat in his direction and set off to help the others. Pained cries pulled the candelabra's attention away from the fight in front of him and to where a man was savagely yanking the feathers out of his beloved Michelle's body. Anger burning in his brass belly at the sight, Francis wobbled over and took a deep breath and forced out via his flames. Promise of not hurting the villagers be damned! No one harmed her on his watch.

Hanatomago ran by them with a whole group on her tail as she led them to the kitchen. Raivis charged forward and chuckled at the footstool's little growls, "You're kinda cute but big brother would want me to—"

The drawers above the little footstool opened up to reveal Natalya and Natasha along with their fellow knives, their silver bodies glistening menacingly. If that wasn't enough, Ivan turned his flames on and smiled at the men, "It's not nice to harm others, comrades. Especially innocent puppies like Hana—" In his panic, Raivis threw his torch at Ivan. The stove blinked a few times before his smile became tight, "Kol, Kol, Kol~"

A loud explosion followed by horrified scream erupted from the kitchen. Raivis's group shoved him out of the way and ran out of the kitchen. Arthur and the rest watched as the rest crawled away while the carriage allowed the suits of armor to stuff the queen's guard into it. The clock waved his pair of scissors about, "And stay out!"

Francis, in his state of joy, grabbed Arthur's cheeks and kissed them making the clock sputter in disgust and waved him away. He glanced around to make sure boyfriend hadn't seen but the coat rack was in the far back and had, from the looks of it, cornered a child. Arthur waddled over in time to see Alfred shake his head at the small blonde, "Dude, how old are you, ten?"

"I-I'm twelve," stuttered Raivis before frowning, "You better not hurt me, else my big brother, Eduard, will hurt you back!"

"Eduard?"

"Yeah, he made us all come here so that we could kill the beast that kidnapped his Tino away! You watch. My big brother is the most amazing hunter in the whole world. Your beast won't stand a chance against his bow and arrows."

"You're twelve?" At Raivis' nod, Alfred picked him up and draped him over a chest before spanking him, "This is what you get for screwing around in matters you don't understand! Go on home now!" Much to the boy's dismay, tears of embarrassment and pain ran down his cheeks as he did as he was told but lingered just outside the gates to wait for his brother.

~.~

Eduard released an annoyed grunt after kicking down another door only to find the room empty. Fingers curling around his bow, he made his way to the last one at the end of the hall. Like all the other doors before it, he kicked it open, "Ha, I found you, Beast!" His smirk morphed into a frown when Berwald only laid down on his ottoman and stared miserably outside his window, rose long forgotten.

'Oi,' growled the Beast in Berwald's mind, 'Don't just sit there, scare 'em off! Your people are downstairs fighting off th' intruders when we're th' ones who should be doing that. This 's our territory.'

Berwald shrugged in indifference, 'Without Peter or Tino, this is just an empty space.'

'Well, if yer not goin' ta fight then let m'!'

"Nh—Argh!" Berwald clutched his arm, feeling for the arrow Eduard shot him with. He glanced wearily at the man before pulling the arrow out and tossing aside. He curled back on his ottoman, not at all caring if he tried again.

With a growl, Eduard tackled him out the window and onto the slippery roof top, "Get up and fight me, monster!"

Berwald couldn't believe how much it hurt to be called that again despite everything. He ignored the enraged howls of the Beast and his insistent clawing at the thinning walls of his humanity. If they were lucky maybe the blonde would kill them before he lost his control. The prince rolled towards the edge of the roof and hugged a gargoyle to himself wanting to have some form of comfort before his death even if it was from a stone demon. Who was he to be picky…it had once been an angel after all and, to him, it would always be an angel.

Eduard saw this and scoffed, "What's the matter Beast? Too _kind_ _and_ _gentle_ to fight back? You're pathetic." Breaking off a spiked aqueduct he prowled towards the broken creature.

Furry ears twitched at the sound of familiar horse hooves but Berwald played it off as his mind being merciful and giving him something that made him happy before he passed.

"No," cried Tino.

"Tino?" Blue eyes shot open at the voice. There on his black and white Clydesdale was Tino soaked to the bone under the heavy down pour. In that moment, Berwald's heart nearly burst with happiness at the sight of his beloved home again.

Tino's eyes widened when he saw what Eduard was going to do and he yelled out, "No, Eduard, don't!"

Berwald's rounded pupils elongated into narrow slits as lightning struck on of the metal spikes near them. The blue clouded over with yellow pigment until they glowed dangerously for, in that moment of weakness, the Beast burst through the final barriers of Berwald's control. And just as Eduard brought down his weapon to smash his skull in, the Beast reached out with both paws and caught it in mid-swing.

'Don't kill him,' hissed Berwald.

'I'll try not t' but his stench 's all over yer mate, so I won't make any promises,' muttered the Beast as he dodged Eduard's attacks, his pupils expanding and dilating as he assessed his new prey. Claws unsheathing further from his paws, the Beast lashed out at Eduard, making him lose his traction on the wet tiles and slip down.

Tino turned around at the sound of more hooves and let out a relieved sigh when he saw that his friends had caught up to him. He motioned for Mathias to get off, "I need to go stop this, brother. You stay here and tend to the others." He hopped off as well and inside leaving the other's to gape at the moving furniture.

Lars watched as chairs and tables crawled towards their broken limbs. He took one last drag from his pipe before putting it out and handed it over to his sister, "I'm quitting." Sighing, he walked towards one of the chairs and motioned for it to sit still, "Uh, I'm going to help so don't hurt me, ok?"

Unsure whether or not the man could be trusted, the chair tried to back away but Mathias came up and placed a gentle hand on its armrest, "It's ok. We won't hurt ya." Taking off his trusty tool belt, he unrolled it so that they could all share his tools.

"Here, I think this leg belongs to you," muttered Lars as he picked up the chair's appendage, "Mathias, give me the dog-legged clincher…thing."

"No way!"

"The hell? Why not?!"

Mathias waved his hands in front of him before handing the requested tool over to the Dutch, "No, no! It's just that I thought I was the only one who called it that."

"Well it looks kind of like a dog leg and it clinches and it's a thing, right?"

The lanky Nordic laughed, "Right." The rest exchanged glances behind them before entering the castle to help reassemble the rest of the damaged furniture.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Eduard was barely dodging every attack the Beast was giving him. He saw an opening and swung his makeshift club at him. The Beast let out a savage growl before pouncing on him. They both tumbled down the roof until Eduard managed to kick him off. Picking up the spiked aqueduct, he glanced around.

Sheets of rain were clouding his vision but he made out hunched over shapes. He smirked when he realized that the Beast was using the gargoyles as camouflage. Running over to one, he swung powerfully in hopes that it was the creature he was hunting.

"Damn it," he cursed when the stone crumbled under the hit. Another lightning bolt illuminated the roof as he walked through the rows of stone guardians, "Come out and fight! Are you in love with him, _Beast_?" Grinning mockingly, he swung again, releasing an annoyed huff when his target crumbled before him.

The Beast and Berwald watched in the shadows as Eduard smirked and continued his prowl, "Did you honestly think he'd want _you_ when he already had someone like _me_?"

With Berwald's control not inhibiting him, the Beast let out an enraged snarl and attacked Eduard from behind. Or rather he tried. The beast's rumbles alerted the blonde of his presence and all he could do was duck down to dodge the aqueduct. Crouching on all fours, the Beast's yellow eyes never left Eduard as he stalked him himself.

"It's over, Beast," growled Eduard, "Tino's mine!"

Both charged at each other and the Beast caught Eduard's weapon in his powerful jaws, biting down and ripping it out of his hands. Startled, Eduard found himself dangling over the castle by his neck. He looked down and yelped, bringing his hands up to grip the Beast's large paw with both hands, he flailed, "Wait! Please, don't hurt me. I'll do anything, anything! Just please pull me back!"

_Berwald ran through the forest in his mind until he was able to find the Beast in a clearing posed exactly as their body was. He carefully walked up to it until he was facing him face to face. The Beast's eyes were unfocused and his paw tightening around an invisible neck. Berwald gently put his hand out next to his tormentors—no—his companion's face, "Don't do it, friend."_

_He was responded with a warning grumble but Berwald didn't flinch nor reprimand him. Instead he brought his palm a little closer to the Beast's face so he could see it, "Yer not a monster. We are not monsters. Please…let me have control again. Please."_

_The Beast slowly rolled his yellow eyes until they met with Berwald, the rage slowly leaving him until he pressed his face to the Prince's palm with a purr._

Yellow faded and blue returned to Berwald's eyes, the slits rounding out again as the Beast relinquished control back to the proper owner of their body. The prince blinked slowly before pulling Eduard back to safety. Giving him a leveled gaze, Berwald muttered, "Get out." He released him and backed away.

"Teddy Bear!" Tino panted from his run to Berwald's balcony but used what little breath he had to call out again with his hand stretched out in invitation, "Up here, Teddy!"

Berwald glanced up and felt a purr coming on at the sight of his little wife's outstretched hand, "Tino." Smiling, he dug his claws into the roof's shingles in order to climb up to his beloved.

Eduard watched in disgust as Tino looked and smiled at that _thing_ with so much tenderness. Jealousy fueled his actions from then on. He pulled out his hunting blade and climbed after the Beast.

Not that neither Tino nor Berwald noticed.

"Tino?" Paw reaching out towards the Nordic, Berwald couldn't help feeling unreal joy now that he had Tino back. And where he was, Peter was sure to be as well. Hooking his elbows onto the rail, he gently curled his paw around Tino's smaller hand before reaching out to hold it near his face, "Ya came back."

Tino grinned and wrapped his arms around his Berwald's neck but before he could say anything he almost let go when Berwald suddenly roared in pain. Violet eyes shot open in time to see that Eduard had dug his knife into Berwald's side, no doubt puncturing his lung.

The pained roar echoes drew the carriages attention away from its work of rolling the queen's guard in spider like silk. It saw Berwald accidentally knock off Eduard in his startled jolt and used all eight of its legs to race towards the falling blonde. Spewing out a web, it caught the deranged hunter before he hit the ground. The carriage glanced up and saw that Tino pulled Berwald back over to safety and prayed that nothing bad would happen to his friend.

Peter heard them too and tried to squirm out of Gilbert's hand but the albino held onto him, "Uh, j-just wait a second, kid. I'm sure that was nothing."

"That was my papa," said Peter confidently. I bet my papa and mama took care of the bad guy, huh? Let me go so I can go see them!"

"L-let's give them a second, k?" Peter stopped struggling and looked at his friends inside the castle. Why did they look so sad?

Francis, Arthur and Alice ran into Berwald's room just as Tino was gently lowering him onto the balcony floor. The rain had slowed to heavy drizzle but there was enough water to mingle with Berwald's blood to create tiny streams.

Tino ripped off a piece of his riding cloak and pressed against Berwald's wound but it only made him cough up blood. Whimpering, the Nordic through it aside and settled for running his hands along Berwald's furry face, "I'm so sorry, Teddy."

"Don't be," whispered Berwald. Taking a shallow breath, he released it in a small chuckle, "Ya…ya came back," he said again.

"Of course, I came back. I couldn't let them—oh, this is all my fault." Burying his face in Berwald's mane, Tino let out a shuddering cry, "If only I'd gotten here sooner then none of this would've happened."

Berwald smiled and savored Tino's warmth, "M-maybe…maybe it's better this way."

Gasping, Tino pulled away enough to be able to gape, "Don't say that, Teddy! Th-that's not funny. You'll be alright." He picked up one of Berwald's paw and pressed a kiss to it, desperately trying to ignore how labored and painful his Berwald's breath was becoming.

"We're together now," he continued, "and everything is going to be just fine. Y-you'll see."

Berwald's eyes, though warm, were beginning to lose their light as Tino's soft lips peppered his palm with kisses. It was everything he could do not to waste his remaining breath on happy sobs. Instead he smiled again, determined to get out what he wanted to say, "I'm happy that I got ta see ya one…one l-last…time."

Unfortunately there was so much he wanted to say and not enough life to say it. Tino noticed Berwald's paw fell limp in his hold and the pad cooled down significantly. Eyes widening in horror, the blonde shook Berwald, "Teddy? Teddy!"

Tino couldn't keep back his tears any more as he clutched Berwald's shirt in his fists, "No, no, no. No, Berwald, ya can't leave me! Please…please don't leave me. Ya can't leave your son a-and your wife all alone like this!" He curled against Berwald's stiffening body and hugged him tightly, "Ya can't leave like this, you idiot! You're my husband and husbands can't leave their families behi—please…"

"I love you," whimpered Tino into Berwald's fur, "I love you."

The three servants watched the heartbreaking scene before them. Their own hearts were heavy with sadness though not necessarily because they would never be human again but because their beloved guardian, their _friend_ , couldn't hear Tino's words. Behind them, the weeping rose shed its last petal much to their indifference. That didn't matter anymore.

Arthur wrapped an arm around his sister as the teapot gave a shuddering sob. He himself let out silent tears for his fallen master and pulled Francis in for comfort as well. They watched as Tino's frame trembled with despair over Berwald when suddenly a blue spark fell to the ground followed by a white one.

Soon more and more glittering sparks of all colors rained upon Berwald and Tino until a puddle of light formed around the couple. The light gently coaxed Tino away before wiping the tears from his face. A strange sense of peace settled in his heart and somehow he knew everything was going to be ok.

Tino clutched his cloak around him as he and the others watched the light lift Berwald up into the air. His large body became putty in its hold as it caressed him like artists hands molding clay. Everywhere it touched, the fur disappeared leaving behind pale smooth skin. Paws shrunk down to hands and feet while the horse tail and horns disappeared completely. Bent hind legs straightened and filled out with human muscle. The bulky torso became slime and finally the light focused on Berwald's face and heart, fixing every blemish and wound he had before wrapping him in his dark blue cloak and gently lowering him down again.

Berwald blinked slowly, surprised to see that he was still alive and well. Or rather, surprised that his senses weren't as heightened as they once were and everything was rather smaller as well…He brought up a paw—hand? Gasping he sat up and glanced at his hands then at his feet. The prince instinctively called out to the Beast in his mind but was pleasantly met with silence.

His breathing became a little rapid with excitement as he felt his body and face. But this couldn't have happened unless…Carefully, Berwald stood up on quivering legs and turned around to face his beloved Tino.

When he did so, Tino gave a little yelp and backed away much to Berwald's dismay. The prince shyly looked down at himself and noticed that his clothes were in ruins. Oh! Maybe he didn't recognize him…though he couldn't fathom why. Didn't he just see him transform?

Knowing that Tino loved him kept Berwald from retreating into his shell so instead of quietly going back to his room, the prince took a careful step forward, "Tino, it's me." He raised hand out towards Tino's face and waited.

'Holy Martin Luther, he's scary,' thought Tino but as soon as he saw the blonde's hurt face immediately regretted the thought. Shaking his head, he looked at the man's stance and came a little closer. 'No, not scary…'

Tino met Berwald's gaze, the warm love radiating from his dark blue eyes more than apparent that it was indeed his husband. Sighing in relief, the Nordic reached out his own hand next to Berwald's face, "It _is_ you, isn't it, Teddy?"

Instead of answering, Berwald rubbed his cheek against Tino's palm, making him sigh. This time, though, he let his fingers comb through the smaller man's hair while his other hand rested on Tino's waist.

"Uh-uh," whispered Tino, "You got to lead our first dance. I think it's only fair that I lead our first kiss." He smiled at the cute flush on Berwald's face before jumping into his arms and pressing their lips together. Giggling, he wrapped his legs around his waist. Berwald's hands immediately coming up to support him as he spun them around happily. The remaining light on the ground spun with them until it was charged with their love and shot into the air like a firework. Its remains showered onto the castle like a warm rain, cleansing all of the dark faerie's magic and returning it to the proud state it once was.

When he was lowered, Tino turned around in time to see the clock, tea pot, and candelabra transform into humans. Arthur helped his sister up while Francis enveloped them all in a hug, "It is a miracle!"

"G-get off of us, frog," snapped Alice through her giggles.

Berwald couldn't help himself and he wrapped his arms around all three of his loyal friends, happy that he wouldn't break them. Arthur smiled at his prince fondly before remembering about the others downstairs. He cleared his throat, "Please excuse us, Mas—er—your grace, but we need to go make sure the others are ok." Bowing slightly, Arthur dragged his sister and Francis out the room, narrowly missing the little footstool who weaved in between their legs in her excitement to greet her papa.

Hanatomago made a bee line towards the two blondes with Peter on her back. The teacup was all giggles, "Papa! Mama! Papa!" He leapt off the foot stool in time to change back. Berwald caught him in the air and hugged him tightly.

The little white puppy barked at Tino so that he would pick her up as well. The blonde gushed, "My, aren't you the cutest!"

"Mama, what about me," asked Peter as he reached his arms out to Tino. Berwald took Hanatomago and handed him over with a grin. Peter smiled bashfully, "How do I look, mama?"

Tino rubbed his nose against his "Like my sweet baby boy."

"Heehee, I told you everything would turn out fine in the end, didn't I?"

Humming pleasantly in response, Tino leaned into Berwald as the blonde wrapped his arms around his family and held them close, "We should go see the others…make sure they're ok."

"Berwald," rasped a voice from the balcony rail.

The prince turned around to see his carriage spit out two figures wrapped in white silk before glowing blue. Berwald shielded his family's eyes from the blinding light until he longer felt the warmth against his face. Lowering his arms, his brows raised a fraction.

There sitting aloofly where the carriage had been was Lukas dressed in an oversized white shirt and a pair of slim black plants. His bare feet swung slowly as he smiled softly at Berwald, "I told you that you would find someone." Before he knew it, Berwald had him in his arms. He blinked until he realized that his friend was hugging him. Slowly he brought his own arms around and hugged back, "Ya didn't think I would leave you alone in this, did ya?"

"Thank you," murmured Berwald as he pulled back. "Thank you so much for this gift."

He felt a nudge at his leg and both he and the Faerie looked down to see a lion with glowing yellow eyes. Berwald knelt down, "Beast?" He extended his hand to the majestic creature and waited until Beast rolled his eyes and leaned into his touch with a purr. "I told you I could do it, didn't I?" The purrs got louder until Beast turned to look at Tino and Peter. His tail twitched and he glanced back at Berwald, giving him a silent request that the prince surprisingly nodded to. "I'll take good care of our family."

The lion walked over to the white figures to sniff curiously before hissing at the smaller of the two and Lukas walked over to him. Placing a gentle hand on its large fluffy head, the Faerie smiled, "Rest, Beast. I'll take care of inflicting punishment on Eduard." Purring again, the lion stepped onto the balcony before jumping off, his body transforming into that of a hawk before flying away.

~.~

As the trio descended the stairs with Peter and the two figures in tow, everyone was celebrating their human rebirth. Many were shaking Lars' and Mathias' hands in thanks for helping them reattach their limbs. Who knew what would've happened had they didn't before they transformed back. The lanky Nordic blushed and waved their thanks away.

Ludwig and Gilbert assisted RodErikh in making sure that everyone's health was fine though the German brothers were still completely baffled by everything that had occurred that night. Feli immediately perked up at seeing Tino alive and well and ran up to him, "Ve~ did you see all those pretty sparkles? It was amazing! Then everyone turned into humans. Was that the magic you were telling me and Lovino about? The faerie magic?"

Tino hugged Peter to himself and laughed, "I'm not entirely sure of what's going on myself but whatever it was it made Berwald and the others human so I'm pretty happy about that." He glanced at Lukas before tugging his gentle giant closer to him, "I'm not sure who he is but—"

"That's Prince Lukas," said Robert now that Arthur had freed him from the spider silk. Brushing the last of it from his hair he knelt down before both Lukas and Berwald, "My sincerest apologies for attacking. I thought the beast had you and Prince Berwald held hostage."

"Prince," cried everyone as they looked between Berwald and Lukas. Tino felt the blood rush to his face and he suddenly felt inferior. That is until Berwald gently took his hand in his and squeezed it lovingly.

Robert continued as if no one had said anything and pulled out a letter to hand over to Lukas, "Your mother, the queen, has requested that you answer the crowned prince's call and accept his hand in marriage."

"What?!" Everyone cried out again in unison but this time Tino lowered Peter in order to wrap his arms possessively around Berwald.

"He can't marry him," said the Nordic firmly, "Teddy—I mean—Berwald is spoken for already and happily so. So you can take that letter back to the queen and tell her to eat it 'cause I already lost my husband once and I'm not going to lose him again."

Berwald felt light headed, his heart nearly bursting with joy at Tino's words while his face glowed red. He stared at his beloved and wondered how he could repeat the sentiment without embarrassing himself.

"Well don't just stand there, Berwald," snapped Tino, "Tell 'em you've already got me."

"I love Tino," said Berwald, figuring that perhaps that sometimes the simplest way is often the best. He glanced over at his servants and guests who were watching everything intently with amused expression and it was all he could do not to bury his face in his hands. A hand went up to his head to tug on a horn but it fell on his soft hair instead. The prince wondered if he would break away from that nervous habit soon and decided that it probably wouldn't hurt if he slowly weaned himself off instead. But before he could tug on his hair, Tino took his hand again and held it reassuringly.

Lukas sighed, "Robert, I have no intention of marrying Berwald. He's a good friend but nothing more. Besides, that letter was sent out years ago."

"Yes, sire," agreed his captain, "and it's been years since we've been trying to locate you. Why didn't you tell us you'd been turned into a carriage?"

"Honestly, I didn't think I _would_ be turned into anything. When I did a cleansing on the castle I accidently took too much dark magic in me and well…I turned into a carriage." Lukas shrugged, "Don't see how it matters. We're all fine now and I'm sure Berwald isn't going to wage a war with my mother."

Berwald shifted on his feet, "Couldn't even if I wanted to. All my alliances think I'm dead."

"Th-that's not entirely true, sire," said Francis sheepishly, "You see, Arthur and I have been keeping up with the correspondence to ensure that you and the guests who didn't wake up wouldn't be taken for dead."

"What about…the other ones who saw me…"

"Don't worry about them, your grace," said Arthur, "As far as anyone is concerned, while you were away a beast did inhabit the castle but you fought him off. As for the other guests, well, I'm not so sure how we're going to explain that they've been sleeping for five years."

Lukas yawned and lazily rubbed his eyes, "I already took care of that. I've been feeding my magic to them so that they could enter a dream world where they _are_ actually living in the castle with you guys. When they wake up it would be as if they've been here this whole time. Just act accordingly and send them home." The faerie yawned again and sat down on the steps, leaning his head against the rail and curled up.

"Are ya alright," asked Tino worriedly. He motioned for Emil to step forward, "Take off your cloak and give it to him."

The young Nordic did as he was told and draped his brown cloak around Lukas' shoulders. He froze when the faerie's eyes met his and refused to part. Coughing awkwardly, Emil took a step back, "Are you warm?"

"I am. Thank you."

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Emil held his hands behind his back and looked at Lukas curiously, "So are you really a faerie?"

"I am."

"Cool! I can't wait to tell Lilly. Can you bless children? She and I are going to have a baby and it would mean a lot to us if you did…um, if you don't mind that is. "

"I don't mind," breathed Lukas before pulling the cloak closer to him and coughed. "I could be his faerie godfather," he added with a small smile.

Mathias scooted a bit closer, "So, what's wrong with ya? You look a bit pale."

Lukas glared at the blonde and swatted his hand away, "Don't touch me; you're annoying."

"W-what did I do?"

Lowering his shirt to expose his bruised shoulder, the faerie snorted, "You bit me and gnawed at my window bars like a damn beaver."

"Ya wouldn't let me out!"

"Berwald told me to take you to the village and that's what I did. Longest walk of my life…"

Before Mathias could retort, Robert turned to his brother and scowled, "All those damn letters you and Alice sent me and not once did you see it fit to tell me that you've all been cursed?! You're responsible for this castle and—"

"Don't fight guys," said Peter. He shyly went to his eldest brother, "It's not their fault, Bobby. They just didn't want to worry you."

Robert sighed and hugged the little one to his side, "I guess…What am I going to tell the queen now? She's going to be furious."

"You're little brother is my son," said Berwald, "I adopted him. Tell her that we can form an alliance if she wants." Glancing down at his son, the prince smiled, "Wouldn't dream of hurting his brother's kingdom." When the red head nodded in understanding, Berwald gently picked up Lukas, "Yer running low on magic aren't ya?"

The faerie nodded, "But I'll be ok. Nothing a good day's sleep and some—"

"Some blackberries and a hearty stew won't fix," said Tino. He came over as well and carefully felt Lukas' forehead, "You should drink some tea before going to sleep. Have something warm in your belly. Teddy you go put him in one of the rooms and I'll go make him a quick cup."

Lukas cracked an eye open, "I thought y-you didn't like me…"

"No, I just didn't like the idea of you marrying Berwald."

"Hn."

"What's going to happen to Eduard," asked Feli. He tugged on Ludwig's shirt, "And Raivis? What's going to happen to all the villagers who attacked the prince?"

"I…I'll take care of the hunter…and the boy," murmured Lukas sleepily, "I'll serve them their justice. The people will believe that Berwald got rid of the beast and see him as their hero. It'll be fine." He let himself succumb to slumber and Berwald picked him up.

The prince turned to Tino, "I'm going to go tuck him in. He deserves his rest after all he's done for us."

"Oi," cried Robert, "I still need to take him back to his mother."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "For god's sake, Bobby, Lukas is a grown man and a free spirit."

"He's a crowned prince!"

"And a Faerie—"

"Half…"

"A Faerie never the less. It's what he identifies himself as so that's what we acknowledge him as. Now, brother dear, if you don't mind, I have a castle to run. So…"

Huffing, Robert crossed his arms, "Fine but I'm not leaving here empty handed." He walked over and picked up Mathias' device, "I'm taking this with me. We could use these in our kingdom. Do you know who made it?"

Emma nudged Mathias forward, "He did! Go one, love, tell him."

"I—I did," squeaked the Nordic with a heavy blush and a goofy smile. He caught Emma giving him a thumb up and a grin. Clearing his throat, he said in a deeper voice, "I did."

"I'd like to place an order for more then. Come, walk with me and I'll give you the particulars."

~.~

The Beilschmidts and Feli went back home after Mathias and Robert discussed their business transaction with the promise from Tino that he would come down to the village later in the day. Everyone else worked to get their guests back home while Robert and his men returned back to their queen. The guests, bless their hearts, hugged their shy prince and thanked him for his wonderful hospitality. They also demanded that they be invited back to the castle for his wedding.

Of course that had made both Tino and Berwald blush and smile with giddiness. That is until the prince remembered something that his beloved had confessed to him a while ago. So during their dinner, Berwald cautiously approached the subject of marriage again.

Tino dropped his spoon, his brows furrowed in a hurt expression as he asked sadly, "Y-ya don't want to marry me?"

Berwald sighed, "Of course I do. But ya told me once that ya wanted to see the world and I don't want to keep you from doing what you want."

"Why can't we do that together? Hanatomago and Peter can come too. We can go adventuring as a family!" Tino reached over and laced his fingers through Berwald's larger ones, "It'll be fun, yeah? Isn't there somewhere _you've_ always wanted to go?"

"Not really. So long as I have my family with me, anywhere is fine." The prince sat back and thought, "Then again, I had wondered about Lukas' domain. I heard the rabbits there like to wear pants…"

Violet eyes widened at that, "We should go! I'd like to see that and maybe see if I can keep one…I'd name him Sir Magic Breathing Cheese Castle. Whadaya think?"

"…don't ever change, wife." Berwald reached over and held Tino's hand in his, bringing it shyly to his lips to kiss his knuckles, "Don't ever change."

~.~

When Lukas woke up, he'd missed Berwald's departure with his family. Apparently he'd been sleeping for five days straight. The other servants had left to go visit with their family and friends while their prince had gone on a vacation with his family. Of course, Mathias and Emma had been coming up to check on his status and it was to the Nordics cheerful grin that he woke up to.

Cringing, Lukas shoved Mathias' face away from his own. Emma brought him a cup of water and a small tray of crackers and fruit, "How are you feeling, hun?"

The faerie blushed at the term of endearment but took the water gratefully. He drowned it all in a single gulp before handing it back over and sitting up better so that she could place the tray on his lap. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you. I've been sleeping on the ground for far too long." He looked around the room as he nibbled on a cracker, "Where's my prisoner?"

"Eduard's in the dungeon at the moment," muttered Mathias, his hands balling into fists. "Berwald insisted that we take care of him as well. Told us that you would take care of him when you woke up."

"Hm." Lukas cleaned his plate before stretching languidly, "Right then, lead the way."

"Aren't you going to go freshen up? Shower or something?"

"I'm a faerie," said Lukas simply. He got up and smoothed his clothes out, "I don't need to do half the things humans do. Now, if you would be so kind, take me to Eduard."

The couple did as they were asked and led Lukas to the dungeons where they could hear Eduard scream at the servants to let him out. Natalya gritted her teeth and threw the platter containing the hunter's meal at him, "Shut up, pest! You're lucky I respect my prince too much to disobey his orders. I oughta cut you for what you were about to do to him." She withdrew her kitchen knife from her dress pocket and was about to throw it at him but Ivan quickly intervened.

"W-wait, sis," yelped Ivan as he tugged Natalya back by her shoulders. "Lukas is supposed to take care of him. We can't just—"

"He also let all those people in to hurt us and that little brother of his tried to hurt Hanatomago and threw his torch at you!"

"Well, yeah but…"

Lukas squeezed through the two siblings, "Excuse me." He looked at the two blondes in the cell stoically, trying to assess the amount of punishment he should distribute. The little one looked frightened and had a purple mark on his lower cheek. His eyes were wide and red as if he'd been crying and he held his hand to his chest. Judging by how he was pressing himself as far away from his brother as possible, it was clear that his brother was at fault.

The faerie's icy blue eyes turned onto Eduard. The hunter met them head on and didn't look remotely guilty for all the damage he's caused let alone for harming his little brother. Sighing, he held his hand out to Ivan, "May I have the key to the cell?" The Russian quickly dug into his apron and handed over the bronze key. "Thank you."

He entered the cell and braced himself as Eduard launched towards him. Flicking his wrist, he sent the hunter flying back, "How rude. You, little one, please come closer." Lukas bent down so that he could be at eye level with Raivis.

Raivis trembled as he slowly made his way over to the faerie. He glanced back at Eduard in fear of punishment for doing as Lukas asked but a cool hand to his chin forced him away. The young blonde felt tears prick at his eyes again, "Are you going to kill us?"

"Do you understand that what you did was cruel?"

"Y-yes…"

"Then why did you do it?"

"I…I wanted for my big brother to like me." Raivis lowered his eyes to his broken wrist and held it close, his lips trembling, "I didn't want him to think I wasn't a man like him."

"What would your parents say if they saw you behaving like this," asked Lukas, though he had an idea of what the answer would be.

"We don't have parents. Eduard's always taken care of me—"

Emma gasped from the other side of the cell and rushed to grip the bars angrily, "That's not true. Eduard, you pig, what the kind of lies have you been feeding this child!" Turning to Raivis sympathetically, she said, "He used to leave you alone with the shoe maker when you were a baby. Toris stopped watching over you when he and Eduard had a falling out. Sometimes we all wonder what kind of boy you would've been if he had just let him keep you."

"A damn pansy," muttered Eduard under his breath. "What kind of self-respecting man makes shoes all day?"

Mathias huffed, "I don't know. What kind of self-respecting man harasses the ones they have so called feelings for just because they reject them? Then goes and hits their little brothers because their plans of murdering the one that did win their heart failed."

"And kills mother bears," added Emma as she thought back to Matthew's orphaned bear cub and the horrid bear rug Eduard liked to sit on at the tavern. She really hopped her brother and the others got rid of it.

"Alright, enough." Lukas placed a hand on Raivis' shoulder, "I'm not going to kill either of you but that doesn't mean I'm not going to punish you." He held onto the boy's broken wrist and healed it before reaching out to his cheek and healing that too. "You are going to work here from now on. I'm sure you already know Ivan. He's the head chef here and will be more than happy to take you on as his apprentice."

"How the hell is that a punishment," asked Natalya, "I work with brother every day and it is an honor to serve under him!" She openly glared at the trembling boy as Ivan reached into the cell and pulled him out.

"We are going to have so much fun. Right, little comrade," chirped Ivan while he placed a heavy hand on Raivis' head. The boy yelped and the cook immediately removed it, "I'm sorry. I tend to forget my own strength when I'm excited."

Raivis nodded slowly before turning to Mathias. He blushed in shame before running up to him and wrapping his arms around his midsection, "I'm so sorry!"

Blinking in shock, the Nordic slowly brought his arms up to hug the boy back, "It's ok, little guy."

"No, it's not! I was a real jerk to you and a lot of people. It's not ok!"

"You're still young, buddy. At least you've recognized that you were a jerk. Takes a real man to see that and admit it. There's still room for redemption yet." He wiped away Raivis' tears and grinned, "I'm sure you're going to try you're hardest, right?"

Raivis gasped at Mathias' words and actions, now understanding why Tino always defended his older brother with everything he had and more. The man wasn't crazy…he was just the best freaking brother in the whole world. He smiled back and nodded eagerly, "Right!"

"Tch," spat Eduard still unable to move from the bed. He winced when he was harshly lifted to his feet by an unseen force and brought towards Lukas. Ivan took that as his cue to take his new protégé with him so that he could familiarize himself with the kitchen.

"As for _you_ ," growled the faerie in annoyance, "you are old enough to know what you were doing was wrong. And even after Berwald showed you mercy you dared to attack him when his back was to you." With hands glowing a pale blue, Lukas reached out for Eduard's neck, "I _should_ kill you for your attempt on my friend's life but both he and I would be disappointed in me so I'll spare you. However, I place a curse upon you that will only be broken when you learn to be a true man and learn to love another and earn their love in return."

"Is that all? That's easy, I'll just go into town and get one of Emma's stupid friends to—" the rest of Eduard's sentence was cut off by a deep croak. His eyes widened when he realized that it came from him and before he knew it the world seemed a lot larger. He opened his mouth to demand what had happened but another croak escaped instead of words.

"There," said Lukas with a proud smirk, "now your outside self reflects the same as your inside self. Oh! And you only have five years to find a way back…else you'll be stuck like this forever." As carefully as he could, he lowered the toad and watched as it desperately hopped away.

Watching Eduard squeeze out through the dungeon's window, Mathias sighed and pulled Emma close to him, "Do you think he'll be ok? Aren't there animals that like eating toads?"

Lukas eyed the Dane curiously, "You care? Even after all he's done?"

"Well, I'm mad, yeah but I don't wish him a cruel fate or nothing."

The three left the dungeon and went downstairs for a proper meal, "Whatever happens to him is nothing that he doesn't deserve."

* * *

**~A year Later~**

People bustled about the poor provincial town Tino once lamented being forced to live in. Now as he and Feliks walked through the crowd, the Nordic couldn't help but feel at home. He and his family had just gotten back from traveling all around France and a bit of Italy. They'd even gone to Lukas' domain where the queen was thrilled that their kingdoms would become allies for years to come. She gifted Tino and Peter with a rabbit that had black fur from his waist down that it did in fact look like it was wearing trousers, much to Tino's delight.

They would've traveled even further but the family agreed that they should return home for a bit. After all they still had a wedding to plan. So when they arrived, it hadn't been a surprise to find that Arthur and Francis were already bustling with cleaning the castle once again. The Brit had returned from the seaside with Alfred, now fiancé. Turned out that there was something special about the ocean that brought out the romance in Arthur.

And so, Tino and Berwald were shooed away to their room while Alice took Peter so that the couple could have some privacy. The pair took the time to plan out what they wanted for the wedding and now Tino and Feliks were walking towards Elizabeta's fabric shop so that they could pick out some fabric for his wedding suit.

"Ooh, like there it is," cried Feliks excitedly. He dragged Tino in and immediately went to the pastel blues. Tino glanced out the window and saw that some of the villagers were staring at him again.

He frowned, "Guess some things never change…"

"Let them stare, honey," said Elizabeta. She had her baby, Henry, in her arms as she walked up to her friends, "They're just jealous cause you're amazing."

"Holy Martin Luther! Is that…"

Smirking proudly, Elizabeta shifted Henry so that Tino could get a better look at him, "It is! Lilly's baby was born too; did you and Berwald already go see them?"

"We stopped by on our way back into town. Erik's such an adorable boy. Looks just like his papa but with his mother's eyes, ya know? We also stopped by to see if Mathias and Emma were in but the cottage was empty."

"They're at that inventor's festival thing. The guild asked your brother to judge the inventions."

"That's right!" Tino beamed happily as he recalled that his brother had written to him earlier that month. The letter itself was nearly illegible due to the blonde's obvious excitement but he was well versed in Mathias' penmanship. "But they'll be back soon, right?"

"I believe so. Emma told me that it only lasts a couple of days so they'll be back in time for your wedding."

Felik's pulled out a bolt of blue, "Found it!" He laid a pit over Tino and nodded to himself. "Yup, like this color is totally you. Now if I can just find some white…" Feliks muttered the rest to himself as he continued to look over the fabrics for the suit he was planning for his friend.

They paid for their purchases, or rather tried. Elizabeta insisted on them taking the yards of fabric free of charge. _As a wedding present_ she had said with a wink, which pretty much let them know that there was in fact more presents to come. Tino thanked her before skipping onto their next errand.

Feliks grabbed Tino's arm, "Wh-who is that?!"

"Hm?" Tino followed the short blonde's finger and smiled when he saw who he meant. "That's Toris. He's a shoe maker."

"Toris," murmured Feliks as if testing the name out like a wine. His green eyes took in the shoe cobbler as the brunette pulled his hair back into a small pony tail and started to gently tap at the soles of a shoe with his small hammer. Tugging Tino along, Feliks grinned, "You're going to need some new boots!"

Somehow the fitting for new boots turned into playful flirting between the two men. Tino had tried to offer his opinion on the boots he wanted but that had fallen on deaf ears. Not that he was complaining. Not really. He made some signs to his shopping companion that he was going to go to the book shop which Feliks simply waved him ahead.

Shaking his head with a smile, Tino went over to Matthew's book shop. To his surprise, Alfred was there as well and was tightly embraced with the book keeper. Frowning at the display, Tino cleared his throat.

Alfred pulled back but didn't let go. He grinned at the Nordic, "Hiya!"

"Don't _hiya_ me. What are you doing with Matthew? He has a boyfriend you know and you have a fiancé." Tino crossed his arms, disapproval radiating out his every pore.

Both Matthew and Alfred exchanged looks before falling into a fit of giggles. Matthew was able to get his bearings together first, "It's not like that. Gilbert knows about him."

"Y-yeah," said Alfred in between his laughter, "And Arthur knows about _him_. It's not what you think, dude. Mattie here is my little brother."

"Can't you see the resemblance, eh?"

Tino blushed. Now that he thought about it, they did look awfully similar. Almost like—

"We're twins," offered Alfred after a moment of silence. He bent over to pet his brother's pet bear, "It had been a while since I last saw him, ya know? I mean sure I wrote to him so that he wouldn't worry about me but…after what happened to us and we were stuck as nick nacks…it was hard."

"I thought he'd forgotten about me." Matthew smiled sadly, "When he went to go work for the prince he said that he was going to try and get a job for me at the castle too but—"

"I'm glad I didn't! That crazy faerie would've gotten to you too and then you wouldn't have been able to get together with Gilbert. No, I'm glad things happened the way they did. It all worked out in the end didn't it?"

"I guess you're right…"

"Damn right I am." Alfred turned to Tino and grinned again, "Sorry, dude. Um, did ya want to buy something from Mattie?"

Tino blinked as he tried to remember why he came here. "Ah! I was actually wanting to ask Matthew something."

Matthew smiled, "What's up?"

"Um…well, ya see, during my travels with my family, I wrote a couple of stories for children. They're mostly the ones I came up with for Peter but I wrote them down and I was wondering…um, well if it's not too much to ask…"

"Would you like me to put them in my shop?"

"It would mean so much to me," said Tino happily. "If you don't mind that is…"

The shy blonde giggled again, "I don't mind at all. Hey! You should ask Feli to illustrate them for you. I'm sure he'd love that. Did you know that he's gotten to open up a studio for his artwork? Someone big from Paris has already commissioned a few. He even got a request from a king in the west…it's strange though cause he wanted for his lover to be painted as a merman."

"That sounds wonderful!" Tino hugged Matthew, "I'll be sure to congratulate him as soon as I see him. Thank you so much!"

"No problem."

Tino left the book store sometime later with a basket filled blank bound books for him to transfer his stories too. He walked by Toris' shoe shop and peeked through the window to see that the cobbler was fitting Feliks for a pair of boots. Giggling, Tino continued on until he found Berwald were he left him, still standing sheepishly outside the Beilschmidt's tavern with a few birds sitting on his shoulders.

"Oh, Teddy," breathed Tino. He walked up to his gentle giant and nuzzled against his arm, "Why didn't ya go in?"

Berwald slowly glanced down at his beloved, "Wasn't sure if I could."

"It's a tavern. People can come and go as they please. Now come on in before any more birds start using you as their post." He dragged his lover and was immediately welcomed by Feli and the Beilschmidts.

"Ve," cooed Feli as he pulled away from Tino, "How was your trip? Did you see any more faeries?"

"Nah but I did find bunnies who like to wear trousers. I even wrote a story about it!"

Food and beer was passed around while Tino energetically retold stories about his and his family's adventures. Ludwig was able to make small talk with Berwald and the prince found that the two had so much in common. One of them being their choice of life partners. Both Tino and Feli were eagerly discussing the illustrations for Tino's children's books. The Italian had pulled out his sketch book and was starting to sketch what Tino wanted.

"They're pretty remarkable, aren't they," said Ludwig. He refilled Berwald's stein with beer and topped his off as well. "I mean Feli also has quite the imagination. He likes painting everything so I guess it's important for him to have a nice one."

"Hn." Berwald nodded in agreement and looked at Tino's flushed face, "My wife is also very imaginative. Wouldn't have it any other way." Sipping the beer, his eyes widened at the taste before gulping the rest down. "Did ya make this?"

Ludwig smirked, "I did. The recipe for this brew has been in our family for generations. It's the best of its kind."

"Yeah." Berwald served himself another, "How long does it take for it to be made?"

"About four weeks but we have some barrels in the back that are in mid process."

"I see." Digging through his satchel, Berwald took out a huge leather sack of gold and gave it to Ludwig, "I'd like some for our wedding next month. That's all I have on me now but I can get you the rest soon."

Had it not been for the fact that Ludwig was strong, he was sure that he'd spill the coins from both shock and well…shock. "Y-you want _our_ beer for your wedding?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not! I mean, it would be an honor to brew beer for our prince." Ludwig couldn't contain his excitement as he ran, fast walked, over to his brothers and cousin to tell them the good news. Ever since Eduard's disappearance, a few of the regulars hadn't been into the tavern which had made business rather slow. But things hadn't been terrible, though. New patrons would visit every now and again and even brought their families now that it was safe enough to.

The Beilschmidts got rid of all the stuffed creatures and gave them a proper burial in the forest with the help of Lukas who had taken residence in the woods again. When the order was set, Berwald and Tino went to Lovi's bakery to place anther order, this time for a cake.

Antonio's excited congratulations had made Berwald retreat to himself, which in turn had frightened Lovino due to his stoic face. But the Spaniard had simply smiled and patted his husband's head, "We should make it a tres leches cake. It's very yummy, have you had it, your majesties?"

"M-majesties," stuttered Tino. He hadn't thought about what marrying Berwald would mean for him in terms of titles. He glanced at his love as he tasted a bit of cake Antonio offered him, his blue eyes lighting up at the taste. Tino smiled. His teddy hardly acted like a prince but then he'd never met one outside his imagination so what did he know.

Shaking his head fondly, Tino tried some of the cake too, "Ya don't have to call us that. We're your friends so there's no need for formality. Right, Teddy?"

"Hn."

The rest of the month went by in a blur of decorations and preparation. Invitations were sent out and freshly stitched suits slumbered in wardrobes waiting for their special day to arrive.

And arrive it did.

Guests from all over the kingdom flocked back to Berwald's castle for his wedding day. At the reception, Tino and Berwald were all but attached at the hip as they greeted their guest. Berwald seemed at ease but his husband could tell that he was still a little shy with talking to everyone. Tino ran his hands up and down his arm to sooth him and prevent him from tugging at his hair. Together they made their way back to their table to hear Mathias give his speech. Mathias had given the prince his dutiful big brother speech before embracing him, "But now I'm going to be your big brother, too! Isn't that amazing?!"

Gritting his teeth, it was all Berwald could do not to shove him off. Mathias met well but he always found a way to annoy the daylights out of him. But for Tino's sake he tried his best to get along. Emil and Lilly arrived as well with their little bundle. As promised, Lukas had blessed the child at birth. His gift had been that of art and already little Erik was showing promise of artistic talent.

Emma rubbed her swollen belly as she and her family and friends watched the wedded couple enter the ballroom. Matthew hugged Gilbert's arm and bit back a smile, "I knew he'd find someone."

"Hm," said the German. He watched as Berwald entwined his fingers with Tino's and did the same with his shy boyfriend, "How did ya figure?"

"I guess you can say that I was as certain as the sun rises in east."

Chucking, Gilbert kissed Matthew's temple and hugged him tight, "You're something else, birdie. I love that about you."

Francis sighed blissfully, "Le' amour." He caught sight of Michelle. The head maid winked at him and playfully teased his nose with her feather duster before disappearing around the corner. He chuckled mischievously and was about to join her but Arthur intercepted him with a handshake.

"There you are, Frog," he said cheerfully, "What do you say? Should we let bygones be bygones?"

"I don't see why not." He reached out and shook his friend's hand.

"Ah, don't they look happy?"

Glancing at Berwald and Tino dance their first dance as husbands, Francis nodded, "They do, mon ami. I told you he would break the spell."

Arthur chuckled, "Nice try but I believe _I_ told _you_."

"No, you didn't. _I_ told _you_."

Bushy brows furrowed in anger, "You most certainly did not, you paraffin headed pea brain!"

"Shut up, y-you—," Francis paused only to pull out a glove and slap Arthur across the face with it, "You overgrow pocket watch!"

"How dare you!"

Having wondered what was taking Francis so long, Michelle peeked from around the corner and sighed at the sight of her lover fighting with Arthur. She tugged on Alfred's sleeve, "Should we pull them apart?"

"Hm?" Alfred took another bite from his burger and shook his head, "Nah, let them tire themselves out. It shouldn't take long. Besides, nobody's really paying attention to him." Not to mention that Arthur tended to get really needy after a fight with Francis and he was more than happy to cuddle up to his grumpy clock. Alfred grinned, "Tale as old as time."

Elsewhere in the castle, Peter climbed up onto the counter in the kitchen. "Hey," he chirped at Raivis. His legs kicked out happily when the blonde turned around to acknowledge him, "Don't cha want to come to the ballroom? Everyone's out there."

"I…I don't think I'm allowed," said Raivis. He put away the last of the dishes and sat on a stool. The older boy had quickly learned that Peter was a tenacious boy who, no matter how much Raivis had tried to sway him, had managed to befriend him. It was his self-proclaimed mission to help rehabilitate him and make him a good boy. So far he liked to think that he was on the right path to redemption. Mathias and Tino had forgiven him at least as had their friends.

"Why not?"

"I'm a kitchen boy."

"So? Papa and Mama love everyone so they won't mind if you come along."

Raivis made a face at his soiled clothes, "But I'm dirty."

"It's ok! Come on, I'll give you some of my _big boy_ clothes. That's what Feliks calls them 'cause he made them for when I'm taller which, at the rate I'm going, isn't going to be all too soon." Peter jumped off the counter and tugged Raivis along, "Come on!"

"I-I'm coming."

They paused when a giant toad hopped into their path. Raivis hid behind Peter. It's strange blue eyes held anger and for some reason it was directed at him. Peter smiled, "It's ok. It's just a toad."

"But it's mean mugging me."

"Aww, it's just 'cause it's cranky that no one wants to touch him. My mama says that you can get warts if you touch a toad so you have to be careful. He says that toads don't always get the love they deserve because of that."

"That's...actually pretty sad."

"Yeah, but it's ok." The young prince took a dish towel and caught the toad before letting it out near the stream that ran behind the kitchen. "There. He should be happy with all that water and moat flies." He shut the door before the toad could get back inside and tossed the towel away. "Now let's go get you those clothes."

Down stairs Tino and Berwald took turns leading each other in their dance while Feli put the finishing touches on his painting of them dancing amongst their guests. He was about to sign it when Erik snatched his paint brush from the Italian's hand. Lilly gasped and tried to take it away but Feli simply giggled, "It's alright, bella, I have more." Ludwig smiled at his lover and rubbed his shoulder as he turned to their sovereigns.

Peter and Raivis managed to make back to the party in time to see Tino and Berwald dance by them. The young prince smiled happily, "They're going to live happily ever after, aren't they, Alice?"

Hugging her little brother, Alice nodded, "Of course, dear. We _all_ are." She wrapped her other arm around Raivis and grinned at him, the boy returning a shy one before accepting the warmth of her hug. They all glanced up at the peel of Tino's giggles. Berwald had lifted him up and was spinning him around in his own burst of joy. "Song as old as rhyme," she murmured to herself.

For the prince, the world had evaporated leaving only himself and Tino. Their child and puppy stood with their friends as they watched the couple bring their dance to an end. Gently cupping Tino's rounded cheek, Berwald boldly dipped his head down to bring their lips in for a kiss. His beloved gave a pleased hum before wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing back.

Tino pulled back only enough to be able to meet his husband's eyes, "Are you happy, Teddy?"

"Yes," said Berwald immediately, "very." He blushed when Tino nuzzled against his nose, "Are you?"

"The happiest I've been in a very long time!" Running his fingers through Berwald's hair, he gasped, "Are…Teddy, are ya purring?!"

"Nh!"

Warmth spread through Tino's being and he buried his face in his gentle giant's chest, "I love you."

That same warmth spread into Berwald and his embarrassment subsided. Smiling to himself, he held his little love close, "I love ya, too. Hm, wife," he added as a gentle tease but Tino only nodded.

"And you're my husband. My sweet teddy bear of a husband."

Peter chose that time to slip in between them, "Papa, Hana wants to dance with you and I want to dance with Mama." He handed the small Maltese over to his father while he tried his best to get Tino to pick him up, which of course the Nordic did effortlessly.

"And you're my adorable son," chirped Tino happily as he danced with Peter beside Berwald and Hanatomago. The rest of the guests took this as their cue to join in around them with their own dance partners.

Mathias glanced over at Lukas before taking Emma's hand in his, "Aren't you going to dance, Lukie?"

The Faerie narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "Don't call me that. And no, I'm fine with just watching." Mathias shrugged and followed his wife out to the dance floor. When he was alone, Lukas allowed a small smile and lifted a hand out, "You can come down, you know."

A hawk flew down from his perch on the window to the faerie's hand and watched the royal family with golden eyes. It cooed, ' _Ya did good, pest_.' Trilling again when Lukas ran a curved finger down its feathers, the hawk smirked, ' _I'm sorry, I meant, prince._ '

"You _both_ did good," said Lukas after a while. His smile grew bigger and he let the hawk fly up to his shoulder.

After the reception, Berwald and Tino saw their guests off. The Nordic made Emil and Lilly promise to consider the possibility of moving closer while Mathias promised, much to Berwald's dismay, to visit every day. Emma winked at the prince in silent assurance that she would keep the eldest Nordic entertained and out of his hair. When she led her husband away, Feli took their place and hugged Tino tightly.

"Please don't forget us," whispered Feli.

Tino hugged back and pulled Matthew in as well, "I won't. Believe it or not, I kind of found myself missing our little poor provincial town while we were away." He motioned to Berwald who was busy sharing a last pint with Ludwig, Roderich, Lars and Gilbert. "Not to mention I'm happy that he's opening up to more people on his own. He likes them; they don't tease him like the nobles did."

Both Feliciano and Matthew widened their eyes before the blonde asked incredulously, " _Nobles_ teased _him_? The prince?" To their surprise Tino giggled.

Something dark ran though his eyes but it was gone as soon as it came, "Yeah but they learned quickly not to after I gave them a little talking to. Nobody makes my sweet Teddy Bear feel bad about himself on my watch."

After their goodbyes, Tino and Berwald retreated back to their home to put Peter to bed. Their son was curled up next to Raivis fast asleep with Hanatomago draped over them. The couple exchanged glances before straightening both boys on the bed and tucking the blankets securely around them. Tino kissed them both on the forehead and whispered a goodnight.

That wouldn't be the first time they'd tuck both boys in. As time would have it, Raivis found himself more and more included in their family time. One of his personal favorites was story time in the library by the fire. He and Peter would curl up next to each other with a cup of Ivan's hot chocolate.

"Did you finish writing the story yet, mama," asked Peter as he eyed the bundle of pages in his father's hand.

Tino smiled, "I have. It just needs a title."

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Mr. Tino," said Raivis with a small yawn. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and slouched against the couch.

"Are ya sleepy?"

"Mhmm…"

Setting his story down on his table, he got up and held out his hands to both Peter and Raivis, "Then let's go brush and put you two to bed, kk?"

Peter rubbed his eyes as well and bit back a yawn, "Mama, does your story have a happy ending?"

Nothing could keep Tino's chest from feeling ridiculously warm nor the smile from spreading on his lips, "The happiest." He lightly squeezed their hands and tugged them along.

Berwald glanced down at the stack of papers Tino left behind and smiled at the first page. It would seem that his husband was having a more difficult time coming up with a title than he was letting on. The words _Tale As Old As Time_ and _Song As Old As Rhyme_ were crossed out. He thought for a moment before picking up the pen and dipping it in ink and writing out in neat cursive his suggestion.

"Teddy Bear," called Tino.

"I'm coming," he responded. He set the pen back in it's well and followed after his beloved.

"What were you doing?"

"I've wrote down a suggestion for your book."

"Oh? I'll be sure to look at it in the morning then."

"Hn."

The small family went to start their night time rituals. Alice brought up warmed milk with peppermint for the boys to drink before bed while Francis made sure that all the candles were put to rest. Arthur went into the library to set it back as it was for the next day. He gathered the books and put it on the desk next to Tino's story. Alfred walked in to coax his fiancé to their own room but not before putting out the fire in the fireplace.

Everything was right in their castle. And despite the presence of magic no longer surrounding their home, something stronger still coursed through its veins.

Love.

The dying embers of the fireplace cast a soft glow over the drying ink on the front page of Tino's story like a final blessing. In the morning he would see Berwald's neat cursive and kiss him for the wonderful idea. Because it wasn't just his story. Not really. It was _their_ story. The story of a beauty and the beast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending...I didn't have it in me to kill Eduard off. Not because I didn't think he deserved it but because I think it would've seriously scared Raivis who I felt did undergo a change of heart in this. I hope you guys don't mind. Also, in the movie, it seemed to me that the trio were more upset about not getting back to their human selves than they were about Adam's death...so I made it that Alice, Arthur and Francis were more upset at losing their friend and sovereign than they were about the petal falling. Of course, Berwald wasn't a spoiled prince and Adam kind of was...

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm sillypandalover91! I'm trying out this website for my fics and will be transferring all of them over here. Almost all of my stories are completed at FF.net if you would like to read them there.


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